I’ve been nominated for four awards/tags over the past year but haven’t been able to get around to posting my responses. So, when the lovely Claire from BrizzleLass Books nominated me for the Liebster Award, I knew I had to sort myself out! These posts are great fun and contain different questions, so it’s great to keep them going! If you don’t follow BrizzleLass Books already then I urge you to pop over and take a look, she’s AWESOME!
The Rules:
Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog
Answer the 11 questions the person asked you
Nominate 11 people (comment on their blog to let them know)
Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions
On a beautiful sunny day in June, Westminster was invaded by a gaggle of bloggers (or should that be a brace of bloggers??).
A room full of introverts shrugged off their fears and embraced the nature of the Bloggers Bash with fun, frolics, and cake-a-plenty!
As I stuffed my face with a full English breakfast in my hotel on Sunday morning, I noticed an influx of blog posts from attendees and the nominees/winners of awards arriving in my notifications. Fast work guys! I loved reading their thoughts on the event and the positive moments they took from the day. Bloggers from across the globe got involved with live streaming, and posts of gratitude. Suzanne from Global Housesitter scooped the runner-up prize for Best Newcomer Blog, and she posted her thoughts HERE.
The lovely Ellen Best won the prize for her ‘Connections’ story submitted for the short story competition which you can read HERE.
The beautiful and bubbly Ritu, from But I Smile Anyway grabbed the coveted prize of Best Overall Blog and summed up the entire event perfectly in her post which you can read HERE.
(Images: Ellen Best receiving her award from Hugh. Ritu from But I Smile Anyway).
Music has always played a big part of my life. However, I’ve never really nailed down one particular genre, or artist that sums up the soundtrack of my life. I have a varied taste and will pretty much dance to anything!
When I spotted the ‘Soundtrack to My Life’ tag on Em Linthorpe’s blog I knew I wanted to give it a go. You can read Em’s music choices HERE.
Once I started to reminisce about my childhood and teenage years I came up with an eclectic mash of songs, but oh my goodness, it was so much fun to put it all together!
There is no format to this tag; you can list your favourite songs for every decade, follow a timeline of your life, or simply include your all-time favourites. I’ve decided to share the songs that made an impact on me at various times in my life.
My Earliest Music Memory
I was born in the early 70s, but it was the sounds of the sixties that I grew up listening to. My parents loved the Beatles, The Who, Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and even good old Cliff Richard! Even now, forty-odd years later our family dinners are always accompanied by Cat Stevens, Buddy Holly, or Manfred Mann.
The first song I remember vividly when I was a youngster was Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band, and it turned this little girl into a lifelong Beatles fan.
Naughty Boys in Nasty Schools
Singing along to a song about headmaster’s breaking all the rules, pulling hair and eating dirt was what the 80s was all about. Madness featured in my early school years, and I still get that foot-tapping joy when I hear this tune start.
The Tween Times
The term ‘tween’ is relatively new and covers the years where ten to twelve-year-olds think they know it all! Being a tween in the 80s was no different, but at least we had neon leg warmers, permed hair, and the Wham Rap!
Teenage Tantrums
I hated being a teenager. I was awkward and gangly (the downside of shooting up to 5ft 10inches in height at 14!), but I do remember the discos. A local nightclub by Birmingham airport opened its doors on a Thursday night for local school kids. It was fabulous! Kids poured to Blazers from all over Birmingham, and we danced, laughed, and hooked up with guys and gals from other schools.
I’m pretty sure the song choices would have included Dead or Alive (You Spin Me Round), Starship (Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now), INXS (Need You Tonight), Pet Shop Boys (It’s a Sin), and New Order (Blue Monday).
My love of all things purple began during my late teens, and I always remained a devoted Prince fan.
My Twenties Weren’t a Calm Oasis
My twenties were all about getting married and having my kids. Oasis dominated these years, and my favourite song will always be Wonderwall.
Although this next song came out in 1979, its title was totally perfect for the next period in my life. 2004 was a time of great turmoil, emotion, and fear as I left my abusive marriage and became a single mum to three small children, but it was also the start of a fabulous new life.
Since then I’ve embraced every genre of music from Guns and Roses to Adele, and I love it all.
Music really does feed the soul.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to do a ‘Soundtrack to My Life’ post on your own blog, then go ahead. Feel free to tag me in so I can take a look.
Exciting news! I’ve been nominated for the Most Inspirational Blogger Award 2017 at the Bloggers Bash.
The criteria is: Who consistently inspires you? Is there a blogger that’s thought provoking and inquisitive? Or perhaps they have become a muse to you with constant provision of inspirational content or imagery? Who’s the one blogger that’s touched your heart? This is the nomination for them.
I would be eternally grateful if you could throw a vote my way – link HERE.
I’m delighted to have special guest, Susan Buchanan, from Perfect Prose Services on my blog today. She shares her top ten tips for all the NaNoers preparing for 1st November, from an editor’s perspective.
Top 10 Tips for NaNoWriMo – An Editor’s Perspective
If you scroll down any social media feed you will find an abundance of memes with a variety of quotes – some are inspirational, some humorous, and some are very thought provoking.
I share quite a few motivational quotes on my Resolution Challenge Facebook page. Not because it fits my needs – although, some days these affirmations have been spot on! – I share them in the hope that they’ll help someone else.Continue reading “Writing Inspiration #MondayBlogs”→
Everyone knows how much I love social media! It’s no secret that I lurk around on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram at various times throughout the day.
However, I have a manuscript to edit, and a deadline.
I watch in awe as fellow writers sign off their Facebook account with a ‘love you guys, but I’ve got to write this book/edit this draft/plot my next bestseller’, and they do it! They disappear from the public eye for so many days or weeks and return fresh-faced and another book better off.
So, I’ve decided to adopt their methods. I have some fabulous content scheduled for my blog and will happily share these posts, I will also pop over to see my favourite bloggers and catch up on their posts and help promote them, I may even post a few dragon pics on my YA Facebook page! All of this should take me an hour a day, after that, I will shackle myself to my desk with a red pen in hand.Continue reading “Normal Service Will Resume Shortly #MondayBlogs #AmEditing”→
It’s two years since I published my non-fiction book, How I Changed My Life in a Yearand yet that title is still attracting changes and opportunities into my life.
From hitting the number one spot on Amazon’s best-seller list (twice!) to catching the eye of a big five, and helping me to meet so many amazing readers with inspirational stories to tell, my life really has changed.
Writing a book like this allows you to share a personal part of yourself with the world. I never thought of writing a memoir before, but How I Changed My Life in a Year fit perfectly into this genre.
People relate to the ‘real you,’ in the same way, readers devour author interviews to find out about their favourite writer. It’s a joy to share something so private and have it well received.
This book has opened up so many opportunities for me. I’ve been invited to numerous events, workshops, and networking groups to talk about the challenges I took part in for the book. I’ve appeared in the Writers’ Forum Magazine, been interviewed by some of my favourite book bloggers, and now I get to stand up on stage at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham to kick off the inspirational workshops at this year’s Mind Body Spirit Wellbeing Festival.
All the wonderful things that have happened can be traced back to my book. I met the very wonderful, Kim Nash, who blogs at Kim the Bookwormwhen she contacted me after reading my book. She introduced me to the hugely motivational author, Theresa Cheung who writes the best-selling afterlife titles such as The Ten Secrets of Heaven. It’s thanks to Kim and Theresa that I can join them at the NEC on the 4th November. Our topic is finding Heaven and my section covers Heaven on Earth and what that means to me.
Finding my place as a writer in this world has brought me so much happiness, and this continues to be my focus. Taking myself seriously as a writer was a huge turning point in my life, and by embracing this passion and continuing to evolve my writing skills, I will be able to continue embracing every opportunity that comes my way.
If you would like to join author, Theresa Cheung, spiritual medium, Claire Broad, and myself, for our inspirational workshop, then click HERE for more information about the festival and to buy your ticket.
Claire Broad
Theresa Cheung
Shelley Wilson
We are on stage Friday 4th November between 10.30am – 12.30pm.
Have you ever embraced an opportunity that changed you in some way?
I’ve been nominated for four awards/tags over the past year but haven’t been able to get around to posting my responses. So, when the lovely Claire from BrizzleLass Books nominated me for the Liebster Award, I knew I had to sort myself out! These posts are great fun and contain different questions, so it’s great to keep them going! If you don’t follow BrizzleLass Books already then I urge you to pop over and take a look, she’s AWESOME!
Music has always played a big part of my life. However, I’ve never really nailed down one particular genre, or artist that sums up the soundtrack of my life. I have a varied taste and will pretty much dance to anything!
Exciting news! I’ve been nominated for the Most Inspirational Blogger Award 2017 at the Bloggers Bash.
