Month: January 2019

Author Update (January 2019)

Posted on by arappleby

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope the first month of 2019 has treated you all really well.

As you can see there has been a little change to the content of arappleby.com after a lot of consideration I decided to make this site much more me. If that makes sense, so to me that meant including some of my other passions, namely knitting at the moment. It’s something I do to relax but it’s also something I am proud of even if I am still learning after nearly 20 years on and off, new patterns, stitches and difficulties. I am still passionate about writing, without a doubt.

The new feature,  Carpe Noctem has been exciting to write and I am still going with it, I really enjoy the new way of testing out the waters on new techniques and ideas that I am working on. Speaking of writing… I am trying a new schedule, or at least I am hoping to come up with making this a much more manageable year for writing. I think last year I set lots of expectations for myself that I couldn’t meet because I made the goals too hard to achieve realistically. That of course had a knock on how much time I would spend doing something that was meant to be fun that ended up stressing me out. So this year, my two set writing days I am going to split a bit more evenly between my projects. Today is obviously website day!

Well I had the start of January off of work, the first week at least. I spent it relaxing, I didn’t write once, but I did have some quality time with my other half which was great. We managed to spend time cooking together and getting to relax, it was also his birthday! Which was lots of fun, he had a good day which was all I wanted for him. He got a bit spoiled but isn’t that what birthdays are for.

Back to work blues hit in pretty hard. I’ll be honest, I want to spend more time writing, but I need to afford to live a life. It was ok a few years ago when I didn’t have these same goals and things I needed to save for, I could make the sacrifices that I now can’t afford to. But also at the same time writing was largely a form of therapy and I desperately needed that time. This year is going to be all about finding my balance. Writing and work.

I’ve done a little bit of writing this month which compared to the past few months with all the Christmas hubbub has been a good change, not at the writing rate I want to be this year but I am making progress onto the amount of time and quality I am aiming for. A regular set day or two for writing a week is a good thing.

This month has really triggered a “no more spending” ruling after looking at the things we are doing this year… lets see how that lasts… Time to start saving up again.

Nothing changes here in terms of throwing plugs in for my amazon books on my author page… I haven’t lost my hope just yet.

May luck and adventure be on your side!

ARA

xxx

Knitter Knatter

Posted on by arappleby

Welcome to the first ever Knitter Knatter. I’m already super excited and I can’t wait to show you what I have been working on recently.

So, what has been the project that is in my favour? A spiral knit blanket.

 

So as you can see I started it with so much energy…. Using five colours all brought from Poundland. There is peach, mint, pink, cream and blue and it follows that colour routine all around. It’s very soft because I decided that going with baby wool would give a much sweeter finish to the project.

 

As you can see in the early stages it was quick and easy to knit, but that shortly changed and the more I knitted the longer finishing a side felt like it took. I really like how the spiral is turning out and creating the neat little ridge was a really sweet addition. I think similar patterns are found using the keywords “spiral knit blanket” these can be found on Ravelry or even on youtube. I’ve done this blanket style a few times so I never follow a pattern and go with whatever looks best at the time. Continue reading →

Carpe Noctem

Posted on by arappleby

Chapter One: Leianna

“Trova you have to be careful.” The words ring in my ears, the name rings in my ears. The name I have heard before, so many times, the echo in my ears throughout my entire life, the name, the girl I cannot shake. The girl I must shake. The girl I am told is meant to be better than me, no that is not the word. The girl who is meant to be good, to be pure, to be raised and blessed. Practically an angel on earth. Then there is me, her own personal counter balance. Today I will meet my own nemesis or so I am told. So it has been planned and schemed for me. I have to go meet the girl who has been the other side of my life that I have never met, an illegal bond. I am about to become the anomaly. Someone’s own personal nightmare or so I am told. For I am the unworthy one… or at least compared to her and them, I will be.

“Good morning my princess.” My mother greats me with that smile of hers, so sharp but charming all at once. She is in a good mood, a bit prickly, that wouldn’t be considered unusual if it wasn’t for that nervous glance at me when I sit down at the table. A huge breakfast is put before me. “It’s a big day for you.” Like I could forget with the weight of her smile.

“Let her eat in peace dear, she will do what needs to be done.” My father’s words are heavy this morning; I know what I have to do. Turning another soul dark, but not just that, turning mine permanently. I have twenty-four hours to set my soul on a course for the rest of my natural life. Not just my own soul either, it is not just my soul the darkness is calling for, it wants her too. The name that haunts my life. Trova faces the same twenty-four-hour window to set her soul on course for the rest of her natural life. That is if she knows, just because I am aware of what I am.

Finally, I speak “If she is unaware then it will be easy.” I try to sound confident stuffing a fork full of food in my mouth trying to force myself to eat. To remain composed. I don’t want to eat but I can see the expectancy in their eyes, watching me, measuring me, I cannot falter or fail now. If I do, later I stand no hope.

“Have you decided how you will… persuade her?” My mother has that familiar mischievous glint in her eyes the kind she has before she does something embarrassing and morally reprehensible. Not that my own moral compass strictly points the path to the right thing. I shake my head no and put my fork back down.

“There is no point in a strict plan until I know what I face. A general idea is enough for me, until I know the enemy how can I begin to thwart it?” I ask so nonchalantly my father beams with pride, like he could see every image of his own self in me. But I am not my father. Nor my mother. Nor am I him. Despite what is expected of me, what is demanded and wanted and desired of me I am not him. I want to rage it from the roof tops, every time I see that look in their eyes. That waiting for the first sign of showing what they call my true colours, my true nature. Followed by that flash of disappointment. Continue reading →

The 2019 Project

Posted on by arappleby

The New Years resolutions for 2019…. Tricky but I am sure I will enjoy making this list.

So this year it is pretty much self explanatory for the most part. I want to get a lot done this year and I think that the way some of my goals last year seemed so vague didn’t really help me much with being able to tick those goals off so lets see what I can do.

So 2019’s 24/7 goals:

24/7 Goals:

  1. Write one book
  2. See a west end show
  3. Write a second book
  4. Create/keep a writing schedule that works for me
  5. Keep working on arappleby.com
  6. Work with an agent/publisher
  7. Complete one knitting project
  8. Complete some crafting cross stitch project
  9. Keep doing daily positive aspects
  10. Complete one minor savings goal
  11. Get Christmas wrapped up early (ie. Halloween)
  12. Learn a new song on guitar
  13. Work on the schedule and make it work for this year
  14. Do another “on the fly” project
  15. Draw or sketch something to a point that you are happy with it
  16. Learn how to do winged eyeliner freehand
  17. Win the lottery
  18. Dress up and go out for an evening
  19. Buy a Kat Von D eyeliner
  20. Read five books this year minimum
  21. Get a tattoo (either finish one or get a whole new one)
  22. Create a budget that works really well
  23. Go ice skating at least once
  24. Enjoy 2019 as much as you possibly can!

What do I hope to write in 2019?

Posted on by arappleby

Well, I am hoping to write a lot more about what is going on in my life. I want arappleby.com to be even more personal, I want to start adding some photos rather than just keep it all on Instagram. I want to use social media still alongside the website but I want the website to be my home from home… or my diary away from diary. I want to share some of my best days on here.

I want to write more of the Dollhouse project, I know book 1 was a pretty big challenge as it was. But I want to continue working on it.

I want to crack open the big project too. I want to really start with new eyes. I want to pick apart the mountain and really plan it in a new way. I want to really get my teeth into that first draft and really see where and what needs to be changed. I want to really push that definition.

I want to remain true to myself as a writer and part of that means working on how I write and that means I want to create a ritual. So I think a half hour cut out of the day to first meditate and get myself into a place where dreaming is allowed in a big way as long as my fingers hit keys. Then the second part of that half hour should be working on a plan for the day. What I want to set my word count at realistically. What is going to really help me write with focus. That means in that second fifteen minutes the computer is running, the playlist is pulled up to listen to. The work log spreadsheet is pulled up and minor updates are made. The next part of that ritual starts with a small warm up piece, maybe something minor if I have time and inspiration. If not, I start on whatever large task is on my list I am finding that approach is working best for me at the moment so I want to continue that.

I am hoping to add a third project into the mix as well as the dollhouse and the big project. I would like a small on the fly easy to write kind of project that has no real plans. That is how The Diary of Elliot Parker came about. It was always on the fly with no plot or plan. It was a fun piece to write. I am ready to have a new for fun writing project. I already really enjoy those big set projects but a place to exercise whim is something I am looking forward to… maybe something that’s not in the realms of fantasy like the others, something that hasn’t got vampires or magic or angels or demons or dragons or whatever. I would like to practice something I don’t do. Not historical though. I don’t much like the idea of playing with people I don’t know that actually existed in the real world. I tend to like being inspired by people I do know as characters or people I don’t know that I have never met or will ever meet that don’t exist in the real world.