Monarch Winners!

So today I drew the winners for the Monarch giveaway (you can still read the review).  As it's my first giveaway I wanted to do something a little bit special:

 

I wrote every entry onto a little butterfly and put them all in this cup (I don't have anything better to use).  The first name pulled was:

And the second one was:

Brooke wins a print copy of Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argylle and Sarita wins an ebook copy.  Send me an email at: anyawillowfan (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk so we can arrange to get those copies to you.  Happy reading!

I Matter. You Matter.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  ~ Marianne Williamson

 Last week I came across this quote and I was struck.  Recently, I have been struggling with the feeling that I have nothing to give.  Sure, I have the ideas (for ebooks, novels, that secret project I was meant to be working on but let fear get the better of me) but every time I truly think about starting them, I think 'who am I to write about/do this?  I have nothing to share.  No one will want it.'  Reading this quote has helped me push past these fears.

Yes, I am still afraid that no one will want what I think I can give.  But now I feel that that doesn't matter.  Because I need to use my skills to produce.  No one might want I offer.  But someone might.  Someone might NEED it.  I could change someone's life, not to mention my own.

So I think I'm going to print out this quote and look at it every day.  I need to be reminded that I DO have something to give.  EVERYONE has something to give. So that secret project?  Yeah, it's back on.

Perception and Memories

The other day I had a bad day.  Only, it wasn’t actually a bad day.  It had a rough beginning and it would have had a crappy end (if I hadn’t then written in my diary and realised what I’m now writing here).  For the majority of the day I was happy and content and calm.  But then the end – knocking the c.d. player I was carrying into the doorframe, stubbing my toe, tripping over my pyjamas which could have led to a different (much worse) ending – put me in a foul mood.  Only minutes before I had been thinking how lucky I was to be alive and to be able to enjoy any part of my day at all.  Then, in a moment, it turned sour.

I know that if I hadn’t written in my diary, and realised that in truth the majority of the day had been good, I would have gone to bed in a very bad mood.  We all know this is never good.  It leads to not sleeping.  Which leads to a late start.  Which leads to grumpiness.  Which leads to another bad day.  

Those few minutes of anger and annoyance and pain changed my perspective completely.  They wiped out the good memories and replaced them with bad ones.  It is only because I forced myself to write what I had done that day, and things I’d thought, that I realised I’d almost missed out.   

Memory is tricky.  And our perceptions of our day, our year, our life are bound to what we remember and what we forget.  

I used to think that memory wasn’t a choice.  Now I know it is.  We can choose to remember what we did that day, what we ate, what we thought.  It is unlikely we will remember everything but we can choose whether to focus on the memories that make us smile or those that make us want to cry out in anger or frustration.  

We cannot change the past.  But we can change the perception we have of it.  So I challenge you to pick a memory that you hate, that makes you cringe, that makes you bristle, and to really think it through.  Live through the memory and focus on anything and everything that reminds you it doesn’t have to be a big black cloud tarnishing your mind.

Monarch Giveaway Update

Hi all, Yesterday I did a review for Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle, complete with a giveaway.  I originally put that the competition was open internationally - turns out that they can only ship a print copy to someone in the USA.  However, Michelle has been incredibly generous and has offered an ebook copy to someone not in the USA.  Therefore I now have 2 copies up for grabs!  So why don't you ENTER NOW.

Review: Monarch (& giveaway)

Nick’s life as a CIA spy should be fulfilling, but it has only given him unhappiness—a wife who committed suicide, and two daughters who resent everything he has become. Now, stuck in the Amazon on the last mission of his career, he must track down Matheus Ferreira, a drug lord and terrorist the U.S. has tried to bring down for years. If he succeeds, he’ll have the chance to start his life over again.

Just when Nick is on the brink of catching Ferreira, he’s framed for a murder that turns his world upside down. His only chance of survival lies in West Virginia where Lilian Love, a woman from his past, owns the secluded Monarch Inn. He’s safe, but not for long…

(Giveaway now closed).

Thrillers are another genre that I don’t read often, but after reading Cinders (read my review here) I just had to find out what MichelleDavidson Argyle had to offer next.  When I heard that it was a thriller I have to admit that I was a little cautious, but after reading it I can safely say there was nothing I didn’t love about this story.

Monarch, to me, isn’t just a thriller – it’s a romance, a mystery, an adventure story with plenty of family issues all cohesively winding together to create a thrilling story.  I wanted to know more about every single character and I have to admit that I often found myself thinking and wondering about them (and sometimes forgetting that they aren’t real people I know!) when I wasn’t reading.

Michelle has seriously upped her game with Monarch – I was constantly trying to work out what was going to happen (and no, I didn’t manage to guess most of the twists and turns) and when I wasn’t reading it, I wanted to be reading it.  She also weaves the imagery of monarchs (a type of butterfly) throughout, giving this thiller a unique undercurrent of threat and hope. 

This is a gripping tale that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to escape reality for a while (it will also put your problems in perspective), in fact, it’s so good that I’ve put it back on my ‘to-read’ list as I miss all the characters (that’s a big deal for me as I very rarely re-read anything) and I just know I’ll be able to delve deeper the next time.

So therefore I say you should definitely read this book.  And I’m even giving away 2 copies of Monarch in my very first blog giveaway!  To enter just tell me about a book you’ve read and enjoyed (it can be something you’ve read recently or something you remember reading in the past) in the comments.  The winner will be picked at random next Saturday (17^th September) at midday (GMT).  For an extra chance to win, tell someone about this competition – it can be on twitter, facebook, your blog, or even your mum – and let me know (again, in the comments).  If you are in the USA you will be entered to win a print copy and if you are anywhere else in the world you will be entered to win an ebook - please let me know in your comment where you are.

If I haven't managed to convince you to read this book, you can read the first two chapters on Michelle's website.

This post is part of the Monarch Blog Tour - check out the other blogs involved for more reviews, interviews and giveaways.

[Disclaimer: I received a paperback ARC in return for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.  The giveaway is being run by me but the prize (a copy of Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle) is provided by Rhemalda Publishing.]

Why I Wish I Was A Sim

Click for Source

 Okay, so I’ve been playing Sims 3 far too much recently (one of the best forms of procrastination ever!) and, I have to admit, sometimes I find myself wishing I could be a sim.  Now, just to be clear, I don’t actually want to be a sim.  For one thing, I could never live with so few options of things to do.  (I totally think that should create a creativity expansion pack including every craft imaginable).  But you have to admit that sometimes it would be nice to have someone else telling you exactly what to do (sure way of taking off the pressure).

But the main reason I would love to be a sim is just how simple their lives are.  Have you noticed?  Money practically falls into their laps.  Every painting painted earns money.  Every book written earns money as it’s being written and then royalties for 6 weeks after.  Imagine it – no endless hours worrying that no one will ever want to read your novel.  No having to write the perfect letter to interest agents/publishers.  And you’re guaranteed to sell, no matter what.

Okay, so in reality, that would make for a very boring world, full of (probably) awful books available and everyone being able to afford exactly what they want, when they want (which we all know would be a complete disaster).  You’ve got to admit though, it makes for a good fantasy.

What do you fantasise about?  Do you imagine your book/painting being a huge success?  Or do you prefer to keep your head firmly attached to your body and only worry about the life you’re actually living?

Think Before You 'Like'

There are more social networks popping up all the time, and one thing that I’ve noticed with all of them is that they are designed so you can easily repeat anything you find to your followers.  This post is to explain why I think you might be better off NOT pressing the ‘like’, ‘retweet’ or ‘share’ on Facebook, Twitter and Google +1 respectively.   

You are probably thinking ‘but it’s so easy’ or perhaps shaking your head at the screen as you believe I have just told you not to share this post.  But that’s not what I’m saying at all.  I’m not saying don’t ever press that button.  I’m simply suggesting you think about it before you do.  Think of it this way – if a stranger handed you some business cards, would you happily go and give them to your friends, family and anyone who happened to be standing nearby?  When you share anything online, you are advertising it.  Now, I’m all for word of mouth advertising (which is the closest phrase I can think of for it) but only for products and services that I truly love.  I would never recommend something without trying it for myself.  And I think that this should apply to ‘liking’ as well.

Not only does retweeting anything you find clog up your feed, it can actually harm you (well, your reputation anyway).  When you tell your followers about a product, you aren’t just sharing it, you are reflecting who you are.  We all know the phrase ‘everything you say and do can, and will, be taken and used against you’ and with technology this is even more prevalent.  We are constantly judging others by what we see online – and we are constantly being judged.  And the thing with services like Facebook and Google +1, that information is out there, for anyone to find, forever (or at least until we all stop using the internet which I don’t see happening anytime soon).  If you say something to a friend, it can be forgotten.  If you type something into twitter it will always be there for others to access (even if you delete it, it is already in the feeds of all your followers).

So back to my point about passing on what you find.  I think it’s great that we can share what we love so easily with anyone who knows (and doesn’t know) us.  But I think with this freedom we should exercise a little care.

I have to admit that I’m as guilty of this as anyone, especially when it comes to Facebook.  I was recently editing my profile and I realised that I’d ‘liked’ an enormous number of pages.  I don’t expect anyone to read them all.  And therefore they won’t know what I really love.  (I am currently in the process of going through them all and ‘unliking’ any that shouldn’t be there – an excruciating and annoying process, but one I believe will be worthwhile.)  As I said, it can all be used against me as anyone who does happen to glance over my profile will see the huge list and automatically assume that I’m either very well-rounded or have no focus in my life (the fact that both of them may be true isn’t the point – it’s whether I want everyone I know to make that assumption or not).

Do you ‘retweet’ constantly, or do you show restraint?  Think, what do your ‘likes’ say about you?