AtoZ Blog Challenge: D is for DREAMS

My post today is not for the kind of dreams that we have in repose, but for those we have

awake. Daydreams, dreams of the future, dreams of what we wish to become. Even animals dream, but what distinguishes us from our furry or aquatic friends, is the ability to dream of what we want to be.
Of course, we cannot become birds flying about in the sky, but dreaming about it, made flight possible. We became...more.
In dreams we overcome our limitations, it is then up to our desire to make it happen. To be the more that we dream about. Whether it is to be a painter, a sculptor, a writer, a pilot or a teacher.
Our successes in achieving these dreams come with our commitment to make it happen. Our sacrifices, some big, some small, to do the time will determine our level of achievement.
How do you define success? Fame? Money? Recognition?
Do I see myself as a Nobel laureate? Hey, that would be nice, but that is not what I need to be happy as a writer.
I write, therefor I am a writer; therefor I am happy.
I do not write full-time, reality dictates that I have financial obligations that needs to be attended to, but I make the time for my dream. What I sacrifice to make it happen, is what makes it worthwhile. That is how I define success.

You can read more about my dream - Chasing the Dream

Do you still chase your dreams?
 

AtoZ Blog Challenge: C is for COURSE

Fiction writing is my passion, but to some extend so is teaching. For a long time I didn't realise that it was exactly what I had been doing when I worked as a consultant - I taught people the requirements for exporting their products.

In case you were wondering, I would make a terrible school teacher, but sharing knowledge, that is a different story altogether.

Last year I wrote non-fiction for NaNoWriMo in November, and found it more difficult than fiction writing for that particular challenge. My project is the development of a Course for Indie Writers, that includes everything except writing. There are many local and international courses on creative writing and another is definitely not needed.

The course is aimed at the South African indie author, because the stigma of "traditional is better than indie", is very much alive and kicking in this country. Sad but true.

With the exception of one or two small details, the course can pretty much be used anywhere. The manual for the course will be published to be more accessible to a wider audience, but it is still aimed as part of a three day face-to-face interaction.

I have learned loads of things on my journey as an indie author, and hope to keep learning more.

If you have any pearls of wisdom, or useful links, to share, please do not hesitate to add them to the comments.

AtoZ Blog Challenge: B is for BLOGGING

Of all the possible B's that I could have chosen, biography, bomb or broken heart, blogging was the first that came to mind.
Twitter recently celebrated its eighth year in existence by asking people to re-tweet their

very first tweet. It was fun to see that at least my first was worth another RT ;)
So I had a look at my first blog post (you can see it here) and tried to recall where the name Butterfly on a Broomstick came from, and to be honest, I don't think there was ever a reason for the name. It just popped into my head and it stayed. In fact, I like it more now than I did when I came up with it!
I like the idea of promoting other people's books. Not that I have the time to read them all, which is a real shame since I love reading. My own reading list today is more than a hundred books long, paperbacks and e-books. Sounds terrifying even to me, then again I can't wait to read the next one.
I don't often post reviews, but when I do it is because I really liked a book. I love romance and it takes a really special story to get me out of my normal routine to write a review. There is one coming soon - a romance that was the complete opposite of what you would expect - and I love those.
I do share some personal experiences from time to time, but keep the private stuff, private. Is my life that interesting that people would want to know every single detail? I doubt it, so I keep to the things that could be considered interesting, such as parts of my country that I travel to that are not part of the regular tourist beat.
I am still working on convincing my husband to drive, instead of fly, to our annual holiday destination this year. Why? Because I have never been to the country and would like to see some parts of it besides the nature reserve where we will be going on a photographic safari. Which reminds me, I really need to get my passport renewed.

Which blog(s) have you found to be the most inspirational or useful to you? Please share the link in the comments, it might just be the site that someone has been searching for ☻

AtoZ Blog Challenge: A is for ANTHOLOGY

I can almost hear you roll your eyes, when you saw the word anthology, since I have been going on and on about this project of our writers' group launching in June this year.

And when I came up with the idea for the letter 'A', that was exactly what I had in mind. However, when I sat down to write this post, something else came to mind. In fact, for the purpose of this post, A stands for Friends.

I am not the kind of person that makes friends easily, nor do I go around accumulating thousands of friends on Facebook. Maybe I am not as likeable as I think I am - no, I wasn't fishing. What I am trying to say is that a writers' group can be more than just people with a common interest. We do not have to live in each others' pockets, but we can do things. We can create things. And we can create together.

Enter the anthology.

As enthusiastic as I was when I came up with the idea, there had been hurdles to overcome. Big ones and small ones, and writing ones too. But we did. We pulled together, and the passion we have for writing, and the project is increasing.

Yes, the stories are done. Yes, we are in the process of final formatting for e-book and print publication, but it is not the end. There is marketing to be done, and books to be promoted and launches to be arranged. And we are working towards doing that. Together.

Friends.

In May I will introduce you to each of my awesome friends. Guess what? We wrote a book together. It is called STORM and it will be available soon.

Do you like to read? Do you support indie authors? Why not help us tell the world about STORM. Check out the details and join in the fun...here. 

A to Z Blog Challenge Coming to the Broomstick

 
I am taking part in the A to Z Blog Challenge in April this year.

There will be a post everyday, except Sundays, where the corresponding letter of the alphabet will inspire the post of the day.

There will be more personal posts, and you are welcome to leave a comment or ask a question at any time.


Here is my list for April :)

  1. Anthology
  2. Blogging

Hope to see you around!

  3. Course
  4. Dreams
  5. Email subscription

  7. Favourites
  8. Guest Posts
  9. Hobbies
10. Interview
11. Journaling
12. Kryane

14. Lettuce
15. My Story
16. NaNoWriMo
17. Obisidian
18. Plus 1
19. Questions

21. Reviews
22. STORM
23. Twitter
24. Useful links
25. Vacillate
26. Words

28. Xa'an
29. Yoke
30. Zirda