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Beta-reader feedback and darker days

Paranormal romance novels, The life of a writer / Leave a Comment / By

Hello darlings,

This week I’ve begun working through the feedback I got as a result from the beta-readings of Kilonova Blues. I’ve gotten a lot of love for the story but also some solid things to work through in terms of overused words, show-not-tell, what motivates the characters etc. Since we all want to initially focus on the positive to keep our spirits high, I’ll share some completely biased feedback with you 😉

  • A strong start – captivating and makes me want to read on!
  • Love the way that you release information; the text messages, the conversation with the receptionist and the mirror – no info dumping which is great.
  • You have an amazing way with words.
  • Did I emotionally connect with them: Alexandra – definitely. I liked her “voice” quite a bit. You do a really good job of getting Alex’s thoughts across.
  • Overall the plot makes sense. I’m very intrigued by how it ended.
  • The story is fantastic – I love the twists.

This right here is more than enough to motivate me to improve all weaker parts of the story which were brought to my attention. This is how we learn. We do something, we ask for others’ opinions, we improve and the circle goes on and on. When this story hits the bookstores, my absolute goal is that it will either touch your soul, your memory of something or your hope for the future. For what is the world without love and the challenges we fight to overcome when we believe in something, but a cold and dark place without meaning. We can’t have that now, can we? That is why we write. We write for all sorts of reasons, but that sure is a strong one.

A tip along the way as fall is making its way into our lives: make sure to bring a lot of fresh flowers into your home and to light a lot of candles. Candles and flowers. All the time. It will help, I promise.

That’s all for now,
hej så länge!

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Affirmations and aspirations

The life of a writer, Writing tips / Leave a Comment / By

Affirmations shall not be underrated in one’s life. Below I share the ones I do my best to live by since years back. I saved the list from somewhere a long time ago, and now I cannot find or remember who wrote it originally. If you know, please enlighten me so I can give credit.

Find inspiration in this or write your own list to provide guidance in your life.

  1. There are people in this world that would die for me.
  2. There are people in this world I would die for.
  3. The truth will set me free. I will never lie.
  4. People are not mind readers. I must never hesitate to tell someone how I feel.
  5. Mistakes happen. I must learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others.
  6. Life is short and people are not perfect. I will forgive myself. I will forgive others.
  7. My smile brings happiness to the world around me.
  8. There is nobody else exactly like me, with my exact abilities, talents, and ideas.
  9. I can help myself by helping those around me first.
  10. The people I care about deserve to know it. I will show them how much they mean to me on a regular basis.
  11. I will accept compliments and criticism openly and make educated decisions based on a weighted sum of the two.
  12. Information is infinite. There are ideas, products and cultures I do not yet understand. I will always keep an open mind to new formulas.
  13. I am in competition with one person, and one person only… myself. I am competing to be the best I can be.
  14. True wisdom is the byproduct of life experience. I will seek as many real world experiences as possible.
  15. Education involves self-imposed discipline. I can only learn if I want to learn. I want to learn.
  16. I will treat everyone with the same level of respect I would give to my grandfather and the same level of patience I would have with my baby brother.
  17. I am what I eat. My body is a machine that must be fueled properly if I intend to make it last.
  18. I will think before I act, but I will always act.
  19. I will try new things for the sake of broadening my horizons.
  20. I will never be reckless with another person’s feelings.
  21. I will never let someone persist on being reckless with my feelings.
  22. The three most important things in my life are my health, my family and friends, and my education. Everything else is secondary.
  23. I will celebrate my successes. I deserve it.
  24. Money will only make my life easier if it is mine free and clear.
  25. If I wake up several mornings in a row and hate what I am about to do with my day, I will make a change. Life is too short.
  26. I will never be jealous. Jealously only deteriorates possibility.
  27. My attitude can change my reality.
  28. If I want to remember it, I will write it down in a trusted location.
  29. I will never spend more than I have.
  30. I will thank the people who have helped me, and I will return the favor as soon as I am able.
  31. I will never complain about a problem. I will supply a solution instead.
  32. I will listen more than I speak.
  33. If I don’t know, I will ask questions.
  34. Everything is nothing without happiness. I must do what makes me happy.
  35. I will never succumb to greed. Enough is enough.
  36. Time is precious. I will manage my time effectively.
  37. Right now is the only guaranteed moment in my life. I will make the best of it.
  38. I will stand firm by my values without senselessly promoting them.
  39. I will never over-promise. I will over-deliver on everything I commit to.
  40. I will always assess the situation and provide value where needed.
  41. I cannot make someone love me. I can only be someone who can be loved.
  42. I will always strive to be the best I can be, but I will never try to be someone I’m not.
  43. I will always articulate my words so people understand me.
  44. I will slow down and become conscious of life’s simple pleasures.
  45. Everything I do is by choice. There is always another option.
  46. Less is more. I will get rid of the stuff I do not use.
  47. If I never try, I will never know.
  48. I will face my fears. I will not cower.
  49. My habits define my life.
  50. I will always take ownership of my actions, or my actions will own me.
  51. I will never make decisions in a state of emotional haste.
  52. If I don’t finish what I start, my success rate will always be zero.

That’s all for now,
hej så länge!

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Self-Defense and Krav Maga

The life of a writer / Leave a Comment / By

Last weekend I attended a two-day workshop in self-defense. Thirty-five women from all across the country, with various backgrounds, gathered outside Stockholm for forty-eight hours of authentic assault simulations. I can say that it is by far one of the most intense things I’ve ever done, both physically and mentally.

In Sweden, women between the ages 16-24 are overrepresented in the statistics regarding victims of sexual assaults (reported assaults of 2017). Half of the reported assaults occurred in public spaces, and in sixty percent of the total number of reports, the perpetrator was previously unknown to the woman. Ninety-eight percent of the perpetrators were men.

If these numbers weren’t enough to convince me that I have to learn how to defend myself, then the stories of some of the women I met this weekend definitely were.

This workshop was not like many others, where you mark your strikes and avoid impact. No, we struck to hit. During the warm-up Saturday morning we slapped each other’s faces without defending ourselves, just to get into the right spirit and build motivation.

Sounds too tough? Well, I’d lie if I didn’t say it’s not for the faint-hearted. But let me tell you something; we’re not made of porcelain. We can take it. And in the case you’re faced with a perpetrator, he won’t be gentle. The sooner you pull up the blinders and realize that, the better prepared you will be if the situation would present itself.

I urge all women to check the opportunities to learn self-defense in their local communities. The worst (read BEST) thing that could happen is that you’ll never have to use it, but then you’ve still gotten yourself a hell of a workout. The methods I learned were based on Krav Maga, which I can strongly recommend. I trained with The Swedish School of Self-Defense (Självförsvarsskolan), which in my opinion is the best alternative in Sweden, focused on keeping the exercises as close to real-life situations as possible. They’re based in Stockholm but do workshops all over the country.

This post’s been written from the perspective of being a woman, but my writer-self whispers from deep within that I’ve also gained a whole new file of fighting-experiences to use in my writing.

Take care of yourself and don’t worry you’re being paranoid, you’re just taking reasonable precautions.

That’s all for now,
hej så länge!

Self-defense group

Self-defense in action

Self-defense t-shirt

Self-defense strikes

Self-defense bonfire

(Credit: The rights of all images belong to Självförsvarsskolan)

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