Mondays aren’t all that bad.

Monday 19th December 2016

So today is a Monday, and i’m feeling optimist!

I’ve just recieved the second to last edits through and we’re pushing closer to the publication date!

So where am I?

• Whilst the final edits were being gone through by Lorna (my editor) i managed to reach the 12,000 word count (40 pages) on the second installment of The Mortal King series.
• I started a stand alone secret project all dedicated to the spiritual expansion of my partner.
• Got invited to my first author interview after publication date.
• And off the topic of writing, i got my degree as a Master Herbalist.

Author and Doctor all in one year, doesn’t feel bad at all to me!

Writing playlist you ask?

1. James Arthur – Say you won’t let go
2. Calum Scott – Dancing on my own
3. Disturbed – The sound of silence
4. Hozier – Arsonist’s lullaby
5. Tom Odell – Another love
6. Counting Crows- Big yellow taxi
7. Dido – White flag
8. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
9. Shawn James – Through the valley
10. G Tom Mac – Original The lost boys cry little sister
11. Arctic Monkeys – Do i wanna know?
12. Marvin Gaye – Lets get it on
13. Black Stone Cherry – Stay
14. Kodaline – All i want
15. Kodaline – High Hopes
16. Weezer – Buggy Holly
17. Black Stone Cherry – Me and Mary Jane
18. Milky Chance – Stolen Dance
19. Woodkid – I love you

 

How about some book recommendations? 

• A monster calls by Patrick Ness
• The Call by Peadar O’Guilin
• Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles)

 

Unfortunately there aren’t many updates when it comes to the editing process to be put up on here, so i’ll be working on some book reviews for the next little while.
I’ve got some amazing self published author books i can’t wait to share with you all.

As always don’t hesitate to contact me regarding any questions, either leave a comment or contact me via my social media.

Facebook: Lauren Dowding, Author
Instagram: a_writing_life_

Blessed be and have a gorgeous day!

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Blurb for A Monster Calls

AN EXTRAORDINARY NOVEL OF LOVE, LOSS AND HOPE.

Conor has the same dream every night,
ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since
she started the treatments that don’t quite
seem to be working. But tonight is different.
Tonight, when he wakes, there’s a visitor
at his window. It’s ancient, elemental,
a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

 

Review/Monday 19th December 2016/(May contain spoilers)

Now i’ve been seeing A monster calls by Patrick Ness in the book stores since it was published last year, but because it was only available in the illustrated edition i didn’t feel so inclined to purchase it.
I recently saw the movie trailer for it last week and new that i had to give it a chance because of how intruiging it looked. After looking through Amazon i managed to find this edition and i’m so glad because the story was so amazing!

I didn’t expect to get what i did from this novel. After i saw the ‘monster’ in the trailer i thought it was going to be somewhat cliche…hell was i wrong.
This is one of the most emotional books i ‘ve read that relates to real life situations, and it does pass off such a strong message when you get to the end of the book and realise it.

When i came to realise that the monster wasn’t actually a monster but a representation of the boys mind, everything slowly started to slip into place and it really is sort of a ‘holy shit’ moment!

“How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour? How can an apothecary be evil-tempered but right – thinking? How can a parson be wrong-thinking but good-hearted? How can invisible men make themselves more lonely by being seen?

“The answer is that it does not matter what you think” the monster said, “because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. You wanted her to go at the same time you were desperate for me to save her. Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truth that makes those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both”.

Now that is something that is extremely powerful to me personally, but there are a lot more like this that i’m not going to share because people really need to find these out for themselves.
Yes it’s one of those ‘tragic cancer stories’ but when you’re reading it, it really doesn’t feel like it at all.

I really don’t want to write a long review for this since it isn’t a particularly long book which a large plot line and i want people to be able to experience the same things i did when reading.

4/5 (but more a 4.5 stars), the extra half just for the fact it merely broke me.

Let me know what you think if you read it or if you’ve already read it, i’d be interested to know your thoughts.
Blessed be and have a gorgeous day!

Your future is waiting for you!

Friday 16th December 2016

So now it’s been over a year since i started writing Origin and i can’t believe how quick my dream of becoming an author has come around.
I persisted so hard all year and pushed myself into the ground of exhaustion to make this work, and hell it is paying off.
We are now only a month away from the official publication date and every single moment of it has been worth it.

Now this isn’t going to be so much a book related but life related just because of my motivational mindset.

I feel like we are brought into this life to do something, not just meander aimlessly like so many people tend to do. Yes it may take years for you to find out what you really want to do in this life, but once you know then you should push endlessly until you’ve achieved your dreams.

“You give up a few things, chasing a dream”.

I’ve seen first hand from this generation that a huge majority of them just follow each other round like sheep.
Going to school, getting the perfect grades, going to A level, getting the perfect grades, getting accepted into university, getting the perfect grades.
By the time you’ve finished following an education that might not even get you anywhere, you’ve wasted a huge portion of the best years of your life where you could’ve been achieveing what actually meant the most to you.
People i have spoke to personally have said that they’re just using the few years they’re at uni as a stop gap because they don’t know what to do with their lives. Studying courses that they don’t even care for because they feel like they ‘have’ to, to fullfill the expectation that their parents hold for them. I just feel like say ‘why? Why are you wasting this time, your life is precious and you should be doing what you love, not what you think you have to do in this world. You don’t know what you want to do in this life? then drop everything and go and find it”. It’s as simple as that, well at least it is in my mind.

You don’t have the money to do what you want to do? Then go and get a darn job that no might not be ideal for you right then, but it will give you the money you need to save and put towards that thing you’ve got in your mind.
Don’t do something you don’t want to do just because you think you have to. 

To pull away from the society and break away from the flock of sheep will be the scariest thing you’ve ever done, believe me, but it will be worth it for the life you do end up living.

Don’t be a part of the unhappy society. 

When it comes to the end of your days you want to skid into that grave side ways, covered in cuts, bruises, broken bones and completely exhausted,  but with the biggest smile on your face and saying, “hell what a ride”.

Not drag yourself slowly into the pitt of dirt in a state of depression and anxiety because you feel you didn’t achieve things in your life you should have. Yes you might have exceeded the expectations that people had for you, but did you exceed the expections that you had for youself?

So let you hair down, take off your shoes, run through that muddy field and throw yourself into the world with everything you have and don’t give yourself the chance to regret any of it.

Blessed be beautiful souls.