NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS {what will 2016 bring?}

Last week I recapped what I achieved in 2015. This week I’d like to share with you what I hope 2016 will bring.

I blogged about a special gift I received for Christmas, and so far every day I’ve been writing in it. The first entry was a list of the main things I want from 2016.

You’ll notice these goals are pretty broad, and I did that for a reason. This year I want to focus on the journey. The destination is important, too, but if I made a goal like publish x story then I would become all consumed with that final goal. Instead, if I aim to write every day, then the journey to that goal becomes the focus, because I’ll be more in the moment rather than looking too far into the future.

Part of my writing every day includes using the journal I was given. I’ve never really been one to keep a journal, so this way of writing is something new for me. I’ve mainly been jotting down quick points about my day. Sometimes it’s a few words, other times a more detailed explanation. I’ve left it open to write down whatever I want to at the time, including lines of poetry, quotes, and interesting words. The main thing is I’m looking for something that the day taught me, and it’s a nice way to reflect before I go to bed.

In past years my resolutions have been more specific, but this year I wanted them to be fluid and open, because I already know it’s going to be a busy year, but everything I’ve written on my list is something I can achieve no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

Do you make resolutions? I’d love to hear about what you’d like to achieve in 2016.

Download my free worksheet, print it out and record your resolutions, then put it somewhere prominent to remind you what you want to achieve throughout the year.

Stay awesome.
K x

WHAT A RIDE {2015 in Review}

When I look back over the past twelve months, I may not have achieved everything I originally set out to do, but I have achieved a great deal.

In January I published the long awaited sequel to Fall For Me. Fight For Me is the second book in the Tate Chronicles series, and after two years between books, I was glad to finally be able to get it out to all of you.

I went a little notebook crazy and released two of them. The Tate Chronicles notebook was released in January 2015 and the Immagica Notebook in February 2015.

I also published a short story called Suffering that is part of the Tate Chronicles and it appeared in Losing It: A Collection of V-cards. It was available for a limited time from Valentine’s Day 2015 until December 31. It’s sadly no longer for sale, and I’m still thinking about what I’ll do with the story. For now it will stay retired.

In March I headed to the Gold Coast for the second time to attend Readers and Writers Down Under. I signed books, met fans, and got to spend time with some of the most awesome people ever. You can read about my fabulous weekend again here.

I continued my studies towards achieving my BA degree, and I received the Executive Dean’s Award for outstanding academic performance.

I designed more book covers for writers who I love and adore, and I feel so privileged to be able to have helped them in some way.

In July I set off on a great adventure with my family. We spent three months traveling Australia in our 4WD and campervan. I deferred from uni for the semester, and the kids participated in distance education. We went to many amazing places, and saw lots of wonderful things. Australia is such a beautiful country, and I feel so blessed to have been able to explore it with the people I love the most. During the three months I did no creative writing, but I did keep a travel journal. You can read about my adventure here.

At the beginning of November I started an online writing workshop to help me get my writing back on track. I began my write chain, and I am now at 65 links. That’s 65 days of writing every day! Yay me! To learn more about the workshop go here.


I also got my second tattoo at the end of November. It incorporates an ellipsis, and it has special meaning for me, but I think that may be a blog post on its own.

I set my Goodreads reading goal at 52 books every year, but unfortunately this year I didn’t achieve that. I managed 49, which was so close, but there were many times throughout the year where I couldn’t read as much as I would have liked. I’ve set my goal again for 2016 and I’m currently on track.

After writing all this down I am truly amazed, and a little proud of what I’ve achieved. I had planned to have the final book in the Tate Chronicles finished and ready for publication, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I'm working hard on Die For Me though, and I hope to have it into reader’s hands as soon as I can.

All I can say now is, bring on 2016! I’m ready for another amazing year.

Stay awesome.
K x

End Radio Silence – It’s Been a While

It’s been a long time. A long time since I posted anything on this blog, and a long time since I got back from my extended holiday.

I haven’t been around for a while because I was off gallivanting around Australia with my hubby and two young children. We drove, we bushwalked, we went places we’ve never been, we pushed boundaries, we swam, we ate, we drank, we met amazing people, we relaxed, and we had the most awesome time ever. The pink line on the map still blows me away …

I had every intention of keeping everyone in the loop. But the truth is, I enjoyed the time away, and the solitude of the open roads, and the quiet of the Aussie outback far too much to worry about keeping up with everything and everyone else.

I went into the trip filled with optimism, and with the best intentions of writing every day, because I should have had all the time in the world. But even though we did so much in the three months, what I didn’t do much of is write. I did keep up with my daily blog post on our personal travel blog which sometimes equated to more than 1k words a day, and I made quite a few entries into my notebooks as we were bumping along those outback roads, but not once did I turn the laptop on and write new words for any of my current WIPs.

At the time this was perfectly fine, because I was so busy with everything else, and all the fun we were having, that I didn’t give it a second thought. When I got home, I felt conflicted. One minute I wished I’d set aside a little more time to spend with my laptop, then the next I remembered all the things we did instead. The first few days back at home I felt guilty because I hadn’t reached my goal of getting the draft done for the final book in my series. I was on a downer because our adventure was over. Then while I was slapping myself on the wrist, telling myself to get over it, reality was whacking me in the face. And when I thought about it some more, I was actually glad I didn’t spend any time engrossed in my imaginary worlds, because I had all that time to spend with my children and reconnect with my family.

We’ve been home for over a month now, and the holiday seems like a distant memory. But apart from broadening my life experience, it taught me a very valuable lesson.

Even though I’m a writer and author, it’s not the only thing about me and my life that matters. I’m also a wife, mother, friend, reader, artist, graphic designer, adventure seeker, uni student, and so many other things. I have goals, and I should try my best to achieve them, but sometimes it’s okay to take time off … from everything. Sometimes doing that is the best thing, because I don’t ever want to lose sight of what is most important to me. Even though I have a million and one things I want to do before I die, my family is at the top of my most important list, and if I needed to take three months off from doing something I love to spend it with them, then it was totally worth it, because I can only watch my kids grow up once.
Our trip was amazing. So amazing I can’t really put it into words. And even though I didn’t write like I’d planned to, I’ve come away with more worldly experience, priceless memories, and a brain full of fuel for future writing.

It would be impossible to show you everything we did in one blog post, but here are some of the amazing places we visited.

Ayreshire Hills

Darwin

Lichfield National Park

The Horizontal Waterfalls

Cable Beach, Broome

Coral Bay

Shell Beach, Shark Bay

Monkey Mia

Steep Point

Kalbarri National Park and Aussie wildflowers

K x

Haunting Halloween Hop - The Shining

Welcome to the Haunting Halloween Hop, hosted by Aussie Owned and Read. To see what scares everyone else participating in this hop go HERE.

I’m supposed to be talking about what makes me scared, but I couldn’t bring myself to post anything to do with spiders. I squeal at the sight of the eight legged monsters, and I think I would pass out if I had to even attempt inserting an image of a spider into this post.

Instead, I’m going to talk about my favourite horror writer, and one of his scariest books.

When I was in college, all I ever read were Stephen King books. I was his number one fan (but not Kathy Bates style). I remember The Shining gave me the heebie jeebies for weeks. It’s been on my re-read list for a very long time, and has been bumped to the top since the release of the sequel, Doctor Sleep, but I haven’t mustered the guts to actually pick it up and read it again.

It scared me...

The thought of it still scares me...

And the memory of Jack Nicholson in the movie scares me even more.



Yep. Heebie jeebies.

The one thing that makes me feel better about the scare factor of this book is Joey.



I might have to make room in my freezer when I finally convince myself that re-reading The Shining is a good idea.

Some other SK books that rank as scary for me are Misery, Christine, and Pet Sematary. There are plenty more, but I would end up listing every book he ever wrote, and none of them have stayed with me quite as much as The Shining.

What book has scared you so much that you'd need to make room in your freezer for it?

K x

Happy New Year - Resolutions for 2014

 The past few weeks have been busy ones, and in the lead up to Christmas I didn't have time to blog. But I have been thinking about the new year, and what I'd like to achieve in 2014. I had a great 2013 and I'm really looking forward to the awesome things the next 12 months will bring.

I love making resolutions, and looking back at last year's resolutions HERE I can honestly say I achieved all of them. Numbers 3, 4 and 5 have now become ingrained in my everyday life. Mission accomplished.

The first two on the list will be the same, but I have some new ones as well.

1) Write more
I'm hoping to finish The Tate Chronicles this year. I may not publish the entire series, but I will publish part of it, and I plan to finish writing it at least. I also have so many other ideas I'd like to work on.

2) Read More
Last year I read 59 books of my goal of 52. Yay! To see what I read go HERE. I'm going to keep my goal at 52 because a) I know I can achieve it, and b) I had fun beating my goal and seeing how far past 52 I could get. Let's see if I can beat 59 in 2014.

3) Write a Business Plan
When I first published Fall For Me I was pretty much winging it, and I have been ever since. This year I want to map out what I'd like to achieve with my writing. I need to plan where I want to go, what I'd like to write next, how much I think it will cost, and all the other boring stuff associated with running a business. This writing thing is what I want to do for a very long time, so I think it's time to get a little more organised.

4) Schedule My Time
Last year I made the resolution to stay off-line more. This year I want to put a schedule in place so I can use my time more efficiently. I'm working more days with my new job, so I have a little less time than I did last year. I'm a huge procrastinator, and I need to put a plan in place so I don't waste any time.

5) Eat Better
I'm lucky food doesn't affect my weight. I've always been able to eat what I want, but lately I've been feeling a bit blah. I'm going to try and cut out all the crap, eat more fruit, and drink more water. I don't need to diet, but I do need to make healthier food choices.

I'd love to know what you plan to achieve in 2014.

K x

Up Close and Personal - Some Stuff About Me

When I sit down to write a blog post I usually try and think of some good advice, or something my readers might be interested in, or if all else fails, something about my books. The one thing I’ve never really written about is me. I’ve done the odd interview that has answered all the typical questions, but I’ve never laid myself out for you all to see, so, here goes…

My family is very important to me, and they always come first.

I’m very passionate and I hate being wrong, and funnily enough these two traits often get me into trouble.

I’m opinionated, pedantic, and a bit of a control freak, but I’m also very balanced.

I believe in karma: what goes around comes around; do to others as you would like done to you; that kind of thing, so when I see people behaving badly in any kind of way it irks me. I often need to exercise extreme self-control to not stick my nose in, because that’s another thing I don’t like—people sticking their noses into other people’s business.

Sometimes I may appear confident and outgoing, but I’m quite insecure. Over the past few years, and since having my children, I’ve learnt to love myself more.

I think I’m still a teenager on the inside, but when I talk to teens and watch them in public I wonder if I was ever like that. Often I cringe.

I love pink and purple, and I’m attracted to shiny objects.

Much to my hubby’s amusement, I’m short, and often the butt of many jokes (see what I did there).

Many moons ago when I was in my very early twenties, I had a guy give me the once over from the driver’s seat of his Porsche Boxster. He drove away with his head down when I screwed my nose up. If he’d been driving a Hummer, or a Hilux, or a Discovery I probably would have jumped into the passenger seat and asked him to marry me. Okay, maybe not. But the point is flashy sports cars don’t impress me. Neither does slick hair and a cheap suit. I’m a tradie lover. There’s something sexy about a man covered in grease.

Okay, moving along…

My perfect family holiday involves a tent, the 4WD and my own backyard. (If you don’t know what I mean, I’m referring to Australia as a whole. We have so many places to have awesome holidays.)

I use the word awesome way too much, and I’m actually surprised I’ve typed it only twice so far in this blog post.

If you’ve read my bio you’ll know I have a rabbit named Twitch. I can claim her as mine because I’m the one that feeds her and cleans her cage. The kids think she belongs to them. When they start looking after her I might hand her over.

We also have a goldfish. Now, I have to ask the question: why does the fish never die when you want it to? I know that sounds mean, but we have been through so many fish. We started out with two. After a month or so, one died. From then on every time we replaced the dead fish, the other one would die and we’d end up with one fish—again. If I buy another fish so the current fish has a fishy friend, I guarantee it will die and we’ll have one fish—again. It’s a bad fish cycle.

I’m turning 35 this year. Yikes!

I have a big shoe collection. At one point I think I had more than eighty pairs. When we moved I culled a few and now I really don’t know how many I have, but I do know I wear the same ones all the time—boots in winter and thongs (flip-flops for the Americans) in summer. I have five pairs of Havaianas. To check out the awesome range, click the image.

Buffy is the most awesome (four times now) TV show that has ever existed.



The last thing I want to tell you about is my hubby. Some people don’t believe in love at first sight or insta love and that’s fine, but I do. I met him when I was sixteen and I thought to myself, one day I’m going to marry that boy. We started “going around” a month before I was seventeen. We bought our first house when I was twenty-three, and we were married just before my twenty-fourth birthday. I had my daughter at twenty-seven and my son at twenty-nine. Hubby and I have had our fair share of fights, and we still fight occasionally, but we have never separated even for a day. He is my rock and my best friend.

So, there you have it. Some stuff about me, my life, and what makes me tick.

If you have any questions I’d love to answer them. Just comment below.

K x

New Year's Resolutions - An Update

On January 1st pretty much everyone makes a list of new year's resolutions. So, how many of you have kept them? Or are they something that's already been forgotten about?

I just had a quick look back over mine, and I must admit I'm pretty proud of myself. I've kept almost every single one of my resolutions.

Here they are and how I'm going with them:

1) Write more!
Yes! I have definitely done this, and if you've been keeping up with what I've been doing you'll know that Sacrifice - A Fall For Me Prequel is due to be released by the end of May.

2) Read More
I set myself the challenge to read a book a week in 2013. So far I'm on the mark. Yay me!

3) Listen to my Kids
I'm a lot better at this than I used to be, and I'm making sure they get all the attention they deserve. I love my little people.

4) Disconnect to Reconnect
Ok, this one has been hard. I need Facebook to stay alive (I don't really, but you know what I mean). I'm in a routine where once I get the kids to school, I check my emails in the morning and attend to everything that needs it. Then I do stuff: clean, write, wash, talk to friends, sometimes I even go to work. Then I check emails again once the kids are in bed. Ok, and I also check here and there throughout the day, but no one is watching. The hardest thing is Facebook. I do most of my promoting on Facebook, so to not have it open in the background is difficult. But I'm starting to exhibit the minor symptoms of self-control, which is good.

5) Use my Calendar
I love my calendar. It is beautiful and I love looking at it. Because I love looking at it I am actually writing things on it. What I do need to do now that I'm so busy with new releases, guest blog posts, cover reveals, and another blog tour around the corner, is find a solution for everything to do with my writing schedule. If any of you have ideas I'd love to hear your suggestions. I've tried diaries in the past and I never end up using them.

Please let me know how your resolutions are going. Have you stuck to them, or are you already waiting for next year?

K x

Know Me Better

Know Me Better is a Weekly Meme hosted by
I'm A Reader, Not A Writer.

Each week she answers five questions from her author interview list, and invites us to join in the fun as a way to get to know each other better.

If you would like to join in please comment on this post, or share on your own blog post and link up below.

Favourite restaurant?
My hubby and I don’t tend to eat out much as we have two young children. If we do go out it’s to the local Chinese. When we get takeaway it’s usually from the Thai place up the road – Bambu Thai and Indonesian.

What is your view on self publishing?
I think self-publishing is wonderful. It has given so many aspiring authors the opportunity to live their dreams, but it needs to be done right. I know firsthand how much hard work is involved in travelling the self-publishing road, and short cuts shouldn’t be taken, otherwise you’ll find yourself off the path, surrounded by a dark forest with an angry dog about to attack you. Well, not really, but you get the idea. Self-publishing is as I said hard work, but it’s also extremely rewarding.

How do you feel about banned books? Do you have a favourite?
I think every book has a place. It comes down to the fact that we all have the ability to make our own decisions. If you know you won’t like something, or you don’t agree with what a particular author has written about, don’t read it. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Isn’t writing a form of expressing our opinions and ideas? My favourite banned books would be Alice In Wonderland and the Harry Potter series.

Are you for or against books being made into movies?
I’m all for it, but it has to be done well. I pretty much always enjoy the book more than the movie, and I get upset when things are changed or left out. But, there have been some fantastic adaptations. The Hunger Games is a favourite, as are all the Harry Potter movies. One that springs to mind that was a huge disappointment was I Am Number Four. Such a great book, not so much a great movie.

Top 3 things on your bucket list?

1. Finish Fight For Me, the sequel to Fall For Me
2. Reassess my employment situation
3. Travel

K x

Happy New Year – Resolutions for 2013

Every year on January first we all make resolutions, and every year a lot of us fail to keep them. When I look back at some of the resolutions I’ve chosen to make in the past, I have to wonder what on earth I was trying to achieve. I’ve come to realise that in order to be able to follow through with my resolutions, and in turn feel good about myself, I have to make them achievable. So, I’ve decided to make a list of five resolutions that I know I will (probably) be able to keep.

1) Write more!
This is at the top of my list, and the one thing that I really, really want to achieve in 2013. Until now, I have only written when I’ve had the time, which unfortunately has not been as often as I’d like. Both my kids will be at school this year, so I’m planning to set aside at least an hour each day to dedicate solely to writing. Some days I’m hoping to have more time, but I think starting with an hour a day is achievable. Now that Fall For Me is very close to being published, I have to get the second instalment written!

2) Read More
Currently I read a book about every two to three weeks, give or take. Sometimes I go through patches where I don’t read for a month, and it leaves me feeling horrible, like I’ve missed out on something. In 2013 I’m going to aim to read at least one book per week. For some people this is nothing, and I know a lot of the book bloggers out there read far more than that in seven days, but I need to also have time for other things, like life! I’m planning to write in the mornings, and read at night to relax.

3) Listen to my Kids
I am ashamed to admit that sometimes I don’t give my kids the attention that they need and crave. I easily switch off and have mastered the art of nodding in all the right places. This year (and every year after) I’m going to pay more attention to them. They grow up so fast, and I don’t want to miss any of it.

4) Disconnect to Reconnect
I know I spend way too much time on my iPhone or iPad, checking Facebook and Twitter to see what’s going on. I’ve decided to stop doing this, and to look up more at what’s going on around me. There are so many things we miss in our lives because we have our heads in whatever electronic device is in at the time. I’m going to try and go outside more, play with the kids more, bake more, talk face to face with my friends more, instead of living life through a computer.

5) Use my Calendar
Every year I buy a diary, and every year I use it for a few months then forget about it. I should have worked out earlier than this that I am not a diary user. I bought myself a beautiful calendar which has a special meaning for me that I won’t go into here, and I have hung it on the wall near my kitchen. I have decided to use this to stay organised instead of trying to use a method that has never previously worked for me. I’ll be able to see the whole month at a glance, and I’m actually excited about using it.

One more thing that I want to do in 2013 is dream more, because that’s what the good stuff is made of – dreams. Where would we be if we couldn’t dream?

What are your resolutions for 2013?

K x