We reach another year-end so it’s time when I take a quick peek at what has happened over the last 12 months.
After some sorrow and stress in 2018, I had high hopes for 2019.
Let’s just say, it didn’t start out that well but as I look back over the year, I’m able to appreciate the high points even if there weren’t that many.
It’s that time again. I am currently sailing* my way back to England to visit my family. While it’s nice to see them, it means I am away from my partner, the light in my life which does leave me sad.
*Is it considered sailing on a ferry…when it doesn’t have any sails?
This means I am taking a short break. The next blog post will go live on 27th December and my next Newsletter will go live on 31st December. Not on my newsletter list? Join here.
Today, the 15th November is the Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
It is an international day that is recognised, annually, as a time when we shine a light on and support writers who have been imprisoned for standing up to those who attack their rights and freedoms of expression, who resist, who fight back with words, against those who would repress basic human rights.
This day was first marked as the Day of the Imprisoned Writer in 1981, (the year of my birth), by PEN International Writers in Prison Committees.
Every reader I know has an ever-growing To Be Read list. With the ease of ebook publishing, now more than ever can you get your hands on cheap, easily stored books.
We all joke about the mountain of books, both digital and physical, that we continue to build without reading.
But as a writer, I want to actually read the books I have, not just collect them. After all, I want people to read MY books when they come out rather than have them languishing on someone’s TBR list.
So, I needed a plan!
For a long time, I never talked about my conditions. There is still a lot of stigma around mental health issues so when I was growing up in the 90s, it wasn’t something you talked about.
It took until my early 30s before I actually started to admit to people what I was going through. I’ve even written pieces about suffering with anxiety.
To continue to raise awareness about mental health issues, I believe talking about it and sharing personal experiences are important.
So, let me tell you about coping with SAD.
Recently, I’ve had several people ask me if I’m on Patreon which ends up with a lot of back and forth questions, I thought I’d make it a blog post.
This way I cover questions I’ve been asked and explain my current position.
