Friday, 17 April 2026
A to Z Blog Challenge: O is for...
Saturday, 29 November 2025
CreativeLife update: a special sale, finishing a challenge, and December
Hey there creative friends!
With life still grinding at a pace I can hardly keep up with, am I happy to report that I have finished the Novel November challenge. It feels like a huge achievement, and on some level it is, but with everything going on, it is just that much bigger, you know?
To celebrate the completion of the draft manuscript of my tenth novel in the Nations of Peace series, you can get all the published books in the series (and a few others) either free or 75% off by using the coupon code below.
The coupon is only valid until midnight on 1 December - all time zones.
And only on the Smashwords website. The link will take you directly to my ebooks. Please share this post with everyone, since the coupon is only for readers of my blog. You don't even have to subscribe - seriously!
The annual Smashwords sale is still coming, so you have another chance to perhaps gift someone with an ebook - there are many authors taking part in this sale.
So December is almost upon us, and I am looking forward to a good break. I still have a stack of work to finish, but it suddenly doesn't feel so heavy with the break as the carrot for a year of hard work.
I have a miniature or two to build, a coloured pencil drawing to finish for the Derwent competition, but the lack of work pressure is the one thing I am looking forward to the most.
What are your plans for the upcoming holidays? Any projects you have been looking forward to? Please share in the comments!
Until next time!
🇿🇦💜 Linzé
Sunday, 23 November 2025
CreativeLife update: resurrecting an old computer, Novel November, and the December book sale
Hey there creative friends!
My tenth novel is behind schedule...I might have mentioned that in a previous post. Well, I wrote it a while (years cough cough) ago and when it came time to edit for publication, I was bored to tears from about halfway. Only one solution for the problem: rewrite the boring half.
But I have more writing experience now, so the boring half expanded and lots of things are now happening that Anoré and Allyson have to deal with, including their relationship. Of course, constant action is exhausting, so there are still few quiet scenes, but at least I wasn't falling asleep anymore. Hopefully, neither will my readers, once my friend, and professional editor, has had her red pen in my words.
What I read this week
https://donaldrobertson.substack.com/p/my-self-improvement-framework
With a workload heavier than ever, I decided to go out for breakfast and/or coffee when I could to work on the book. With only a desktop computer (and a work laptop) my choices were limited to an iPad. I hate typing on the iPad and I wasn't in the mood to drag a Bluetooth keyboard around. Then I remembered my tiny Samsung netbook.
I dug it out, charged the battery, found an old flash drive, and it is working. I had to setup the BIOS again to get to work though. But after remembering the password (surprise!), getting to the BIOS to set it up (real surprise there!), it was working.
But while fiddling with the BIOS settings, it told me that i bought it in 2010. Fifteen years on and it is still working with good battery life too. Of course, updates are not possible so, the first thing I do is to disable the Wi-Fi to prevent it even trying.
So cuteness aside, it has really helped me to work on the book, via the Novel November challenge. I am slightly ahead of the target, and I mean slightly, but at least the book is getting finished...one work at a time.
What I watched on YouTube this week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfaL_3V3lXo
I’m also excited to announce that all my books, will be available as part of the Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale! This is a chance to get my books, along with books from many other great authors, at a promotional discount.You can find the promo here: http://smashwords.com/sale
If you wouldn’t mind lending a hand to me and the other indie authors taking part in this sale, you can share this promo with your friends and family. Just share this post with anyone who would love a chance to find their next favourite book!
Thank you for your help and support!
PS: You will probably see this promo again in my next post - sorry about that.
Stay creative, until next time!
🇿🇦💜 Linzé
Sunday, 23 February 2025
The CreativeLife update, the 100 day project, and some shameless promo ;)
Hello there!
I don't know if this happens to you, but once a new year gets going, life seems to fall back into its usual routines. Routine is not a bad thing, don't get me wrong, but I don't like being bored. It is the primary reason I am self-employed - I can say no to work or negotiate a deadline if I am too busy to take on new work. Another reason I decided to go back into self-employment was to spend more time being creative. Enter the 100 day project.
I tried it in 2024 and could barely make it to day 10 without giving up. It took some soul searching to discover why since I was making tiny paintings. Creative, for sure, and I should have been able to continue doing that for the following 90 days. The plan had been to make 100 tiny paintings. I eventually realised that I got bored. Doing 100 of the same thing definitely did not work for me. But I really wanted to try again, so I had to come up with a new idea. Will it work? I have no idea, but it is a better plan than what I had in mind last year.
The plan (and how it fits into my 2025 goals)
I mentioned the group challenges I plan to participate in and the projects I design for my art group in my previous post. I have also mentioned the novel currently with my editor. Knowing how my workload is expanding, I can hardly find the time to add yet another challenge to my day. Unless I think outside the box.
The 100 day project is not just about art, or craft, or even a single project. It is about being creative on a daily basis. So here is the plan for my 100 day project: I am going to draw, paint, write, or make something every day. It won't be the same every day.
I might do a project that will take several days or even weeks, but I will also do small things in between. This way, I won't get bored but still manage to do something creative every day for a hundred days.
Practically, I need to plan time to create every day. I have mentioned that my art group meets once a week for two hours, so that will continue to be the schedule for Thursdays. The rest of the week is not as easy. But I am committing to spend at least 30 minutes every day to create something. If I don't have 30 minutes, then 10 minutes will have to do.
The commitment (and my accountability tracker)
Habit trackers abound on social media in various shapes and forms. I also have one in my Bullet Journal for tracking my daily goals.
I thought I would use that, but I am inclined to think that a separate tracker would be more useful. Instead of just ticking off that I have achieved the objective for the day, I will add the time I spent to it. This way, I can see which days I have more time, which will be helpful for planning future art competition paintings or doing commissions.
Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect plan, with life throwing curve balls just as you think everything is under control. But a daily practice and some useful data will not go to waste even if life interferes.
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Some of my books, will be promoted as part of a special sale on @Smashwords to celebrate Read an Ebook Week 2025 from March 2-8. Be sure to follow me for more updates and links to the promotion for my books and many more! #ebookweek25 #Smashwords
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The challenge details
The 100 day challenge starts today. You can still join and find all the details and the social media sharing here.
I doubt that I will share every day. I don't like social media that much, but look out for my posts on Instagram with the tags #dothe100dayproject and @dothe100dayproject.
This is only a partial CreativeLife update. I will share my progress on the rest of my goals in my next post. Don't forget to check out the Smashwords sale coming next week.
Stay creative - until next time!
💜Linzé
Sunday, 12 January 2025
2024 - a crazy year in review
Can I do it again it 2025?
When I look back at this past year, I shake my head because what I have managed to do blows my mind. Did I plan all of this? But more importantly, can I do it again?
Honestly, I have no idea how I managed all of that. Of course, I plan things, like we all do, but to have actually done it—I have no words.
But let me show you what I am talking about. This is the list of stuff I managed to complete in 2024:
Work: I am self-employed but contracted as a safety certification engineer by a testing authority in Pretoria. And I managed to do 59 jobs for them in 2024. That is more than one per week! Practically, that means that I did several jobs in parallel because the average time for the work I do is about three weeks, with some jobs taking two to three months.
Business: I also do consulting work for South African companies who want to export their high-tech products. I assisted with 9 technical construction files for EU and UK exports.
Books read: I love the Goodreads reading challenge, and 2024 was a fiction year for me. I did read one or two non-fiction books, but I wanted to read more fiction, and cosy mystery is my genre of choice. I would read when I was eating breakfast alone or had to wait for people. My Kindle lives in my handbag, so it is always at hand for those unplanned minutes. And by doing this, I managed 145 books. I cannot tell you how that happened, but it did!
Books published: Thanks to my fantastic editor, Vanessa Wright, I got two novels in The Nations of Peace series published in 2024. You can check them out here: A Memory for Love (book 7), and Prime Pledge (book 8).
Words written: I've been keeping track of the number of words I write since 2014. I have been writing since 2000, so getting that first number of words for the spreadsheet took some effort. In 2024, I wrote 163,000 words. I have managed more in previous years, but in my defence, I have been busy with other things.
The good news is that the series' ninth book is on my priority list to finish formatting and send it to Vanessa next week for editing. It is scheduled for publication in April 2025.
Art projects: I did one commission (6 drawings) in 2024. I finished the Inktober challenge in October (I post my drawings to Instagram), about 10 pieces in a sketchbook, and completed 13 paintings. I didn't participate in any exhibitions last year but may do so again this year.
Other projects: I love building models and finished two in December. I bought a few items to make an apothecary cabinet, which I received this past week. There will be some construction work, and I am considering sharing my process in a few blog posts.
When I look at this list, I shake my head mainly because I cannot comprehend how I managed everything. Am I particularly motivated or productive? Definitely not. But once I get stuck in on a project, whether it is work or a painting, I get it done.
I put everything I have to do every week in my planner, mostly so I don't forget to do the laundry, but it helps a lot.
I don't plan the number of jobs; that is out of my control, nor do I plan the number of art projects. I lead an art group, so I have to plan projects for them, but I also belong to a group where there are two challenges every month. All these activities keep the artistic and creative juices flowing.
Writing has been in my blood for so long that I no longer think about it. Several ideas are on my list, so I am never short of ideas when the muse strikes me with the urge to pen a few words.
This post is getting long, so I will share my 2025 goals in another post.
Have you had a year like I had in 2024? What was your secret to getting everything (and more) done?
Do something creative. It's good for you. 😂 Until next time!
💜 Linzé
Sunday, 8 December 2024
VAMPIRE ROMANCE SEASON 12 Dec - 1 Jan
Snuggle up to a sexy vampire
VAMPIRE ROMANCE SEASON 12 Dec - 1 Jan
Thursday, 27 June 2024
Smashwords Summer/Winter sale - The Nations of Peace are on sale!
The first seven Nations of Peace books are 50% off for the whole of July.
Sunday, 11 September 2022
The CreativeLife week 36 in review
Hi there!
Like many of you I was shocked to hear about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. One of the art group friend's mom was kind enough to let us know. She was a person for whom I had a lot of respect for. RIP Your Majesty. 🇬🇧
It's been another crazy busy week where I did two jobs which would normally take a week each. Long hours for sure, which made the weekend that much more welcome. I finished my page for our art group's monthly challenge and the image was inspired by Michelle the Painter. Check out her channel if you would like to learn how to paint some interesting subjects in acrylics.
I plan to bind a few sketchbooks, but with limited time and a lot of creative projects also on the go, it has not happened yet. I was looking for something in my studio when I found a stack of small papers that I had been saving, They were the obvious inspiration to make a tiny book. It is not finished yet, but once done I will share a few pictures to show you. It is 46mm high by 32mm wide with a 5mm thick text block. The pages are blank and a bit heavier than printer paper, which makes it suitable for drawing with dry mediums.
Editing my book is making slow progress but as promised you will find an excerpt from it this week. The cover is still a concept in my brain, but it is no longer a vague thought of maybes.
Enjoy the sneak preview of the book, and I will see you again soon!
💜🇿🇦 Linzé
As promised here is the Prologue of Keeper of the Dragon Key, coming (hopefully 🙄) in December. Enjoy!
The Dragon Masters: Keeper of the Dragon Key
by Linzé Brandon
Prologue
Daérini Crea sighed in satisfaction as her body relaxed after being pleasured by her mate. She dropped her head to his chest while his hands caressed her back.
“Hmm,” she purred deeply in her throat.
Adrian smiled at his mate's reaction. He still had a hard time believing how he happy he was with her in his life.
She closed her eyes and felt sleep claiming her mind under his stroking hands. He relaxed too and closed his eyes.
The couple had barely dozed off when another future being appeared.
“Li! What the hell?”
Adrian sat up as well and frowned at his brother-of-joining's rude entrance into their bedroom. He glanced at his mate, scowling at their visitor. At least she held the bedsheet up to her throat. Future beings had little concern about each other's natural state, but he appreciated that she respected his feelings on the subject.
Li bowed with a solemn face and Adrian got a bad feeling. “I am really sorry for barging in like this, but we have a serious problem.”
Before either could reply, Daérini's body shivered and slumped against her mate's chest. Adrian held her gently as they waited for the vision to pass. He glanced at Li and the bad feeling got worse when he spotted the way Li wrung his hands together. They waited in silence since he could only see her visions if they were touching before it started.
A few more seconds passed before Daérini opened her eyes. “You saw it too?” she asked in a horrified whisper.
Li nodded. “We need to go and talk to Dad. This is a disaster.”
Adrian's eyes widened, but Daérini just nodded. “Give us a few minutes please?”
Li obliged and left them alone, closing the bedroom door behind him.
Conscious of their earlier activities, the couple shared a shower and Daérini brought him up to speed at the same time.
They dried off, got dressed and tied their wet hair into ponytails – warrior style. No time to lose, not even to dry their manes with magic.
Five minutes after he left them alone, they appeared again. “Let's go,” Li said and they all jumped to the fourth dimension.
“Alu'Adr''Erinia,” they all said as they arrived in the fourth dimension to see the leader of the Order of the Future Beings – and Daérini and Li's father.
He bowed his head in acknowledgement. “Always good to see the children,” he replied with a smile, until he realised their sombre demeanours. “What have you seen?”
Daérini explained the vision and Alu's frown deepened.
“Mother,” the younger people said and smiled at the newcomer.
Alu turned to Eri'Adr''Erinia. “This is distressing news,” he replied taking her hand.
“What could have caused them to suddenly target the bridge again?” Alu asked to no one in particular.
“Or who?” Adrian added, and the faces around him got more worried.
Alu and Eri shared a look. “I will go and talk to the High Lords. I don't think it's Lucian, but it’s better to make sure,” Alu said.
Daérini nodded. The rogue High Lord was causing havoc in the third dimension, but as far as they knew, he wasn’t able to dimension jump. As Alu said, it would be better to find out.
Li looked at his sister. “We need the Future Warriors to help to restore the bridge.”
“Future Warriors?” Adrian asked looking down at his mate.
“They are our cousins,” she replied. “Three women, powerful warrior-magicians who have to protect the man with the Dragon Key.”
“The Dragon Key will choose to which future warrior to give the key. She uses this key to restore the link to the fourth dimension. They are the White Warrior for Peace, the Red Warrior for perfect Balance, and the Black Warrior for absolute Power,” Eri added quietly.
Adrian nodded. “So, what do we have to do?”
Li looked at his sister. “You need to activate their magic. I cannot help you.”
“Why?”
Daérini sighed at Adrian's question. He was not going to like this at all. “I will explain later, but now I know what we have to do.”
Adrian pressed his lips together, but did not argue as they said goodbye to their future family and returned to their own home in Sera on the planet of Xa'an.
* * *
Adrian scowled as Daérini explained to him that the future warriors' magic was activated by sharing pleasure with them and that they had to do it. “Like you did for me, when we shared pleasure the first time.”
“What?!” he exclaimed. “Daérini,” he sighed taking her hands, “I have no intention of pleasuring another woman. I love only you, and the thought of touching another woman is making me really uncomfortable.”
She stepped closer and put her arms around his waist. “I love you too, but there is no other way. We will help each other.”
“How?”
“The white warrior's magic is activated with a kiss from another woman,” she explained to his still frowning gaze. “The red and black warriors require both of us.”
She shrugged a little. “I will be with you and you with me. You are the one with the experience as I have not been with another man or woman before you.”
He wasn't happy. It was true that he was an experienced lover, but that was before Daérini and he never thought she would want him to break his joining vows to her. Looking into her aquamarine eyes with their silver rings he saw that she wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of sharing him with another woman. “Are you sure this is the only way?”
She nodded, biting her lip. “There is something else.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What?”
“You cannot tell anyone what kind of magic my cousins practice. Their magic is not like anyone else's in the third dimension. It may also create problems for other future beings if it becomes known that their magic is different.”
“Hmm,” he replied thoughtfully. “Do we need to speak to Grandmaster Géra about this?”
It was her turn to look thoughtful. “I don't know. There is nothing that he or anyone else from this dimension can do to help.”
Adrian's eyes widened. “And me? Us?”
Hugging him was no longer enough, and she pushed her body as tightly to his as she could. He tightened his arms in return.
“I don't know,” she whispered. “But I am going to pray that my cousins will be successful, because I don't want to think of the possibility of us—”
His kiss interrupted her words, because he didn't want to hear the words that would destroy the reason he had found the love he held in his arms.
********************************
Monday, 29 November 2021
Celebrating my birthday with a discount 😂
💜 🖤 Celebrate my birthday with me this week. 🖤 💜
Monday, 27 April 2020
A to Z Challenge: Day 23 - W
WAIT by Michelle Kemp
Thursday, 9 April 2020
A to Z Challenge: Day 8 - H
Holistic Health and Covid-19 by Vanessa Wright
- Extreme fear and worry about your own health. Fear of leaving the security of your home to do essential shopping.
- Changes in your sleeping patterns. Sleeping too much or too little.
- Changes in your eating habits; again, too much or too little.
- Difficulty concentrating, feeling as if you are moving through fog.
- Increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.
- Get up. Make your bed, brush your hair and teeth, shower, put on clothing which doesnot involve yoga pants, your favourite bath robe or boxers.
- Create a routine for yourself. This will instil a sense of normalcy and productivity. If needs be, make an A3 chart. Now you have broken up your day. Try to change your environment while doing the tasks you have set out for yourself.
- Eat healthily; fresh fruit and veggies, hearty soups.
- Meditate and do some form of exercise.
- Stay connected with friends and family via cell phone- WhatsApp, Facebook, Zoom, etc.
- Do not spend too much time on social media, limit your intake of bad news and updates.
- Help others as much as isolation allows you to. I shop for my elderly neighbours and bake a cake or two.
- Be grateful for what you have, it is much more than some people who are going through the same isolation as you are. Start each day by thinking of 3 things you are grateful for.
- Take your medication regularly. Now is not the time to purge yourself of your anti-depressants.
- Any form of creativity goes a long way in alleviating anxiety.
The Art Journal Piece:
Materials
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| Vanessa's Holistic health art journal entry |
Sunday, 29 March 2020
A-to-Z Blog Challenge 2020 Theme reveal
Remember your name, last name, title or theme has to suit the letter of the alphabet, so make sure I still have a date/letter available to suit your creative post.
I hope to see you soon here on the Broomstick!
💜 Linzé
Sunday, 5 January 2020
Blog Calendar: January and February
Reserved = my spot. I need some of my own time too 😜
The hashtag shows the dates when #TheTinyBroom tweets. Pick your date right and get an extra boost with #TheTinyBroom.
Oh, and it's first come, first choice, no exceptions! Thank you for understanding.
Remember to use the link here to send me the details. Replies to this post, or any other PMs and DMs will be ignored. Thank you!
Don't want to miss out on more news, special events, or discounts? Sign up to my newsletter - it only pops into your inbox once a month. Promise.
💜 Linzé
Sunday, 8 December 2019
Goodbye, 2019! It was great to have lived you.
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| Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash |
Sunday, 3 November 2019
Why I got bored with a vegan diet
Exciting and challenging
Then the boredom started to creep in
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| Boerewors picture courtesy TempestSA at the English language Wikipedia |
Vegan proteins and vegan cheese
Fruits and vegetables
Enter the last ten days
Coffee, coffee, coffee ... my kingdom for a coffee
A veggie future?
PS: With NaNoWriMo challenging me once again, this will be the only post for November. But do keep an eye out for my newsletter, and #TheTinyBroom tweets twice a week.
Until December!
💜 Linzé
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