The New Project…

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

So I know I will never be the first person to say this, but rejection sucks.

So even though I am a big fan of Abraham Hicks and the law of attraction and I totally should not be talking about the what-is-ness I have something to confess.
I have sent off something to agents and publishers. Something that started to be a “for the website” piece of work. That was all it was going to be. Something exclusively for the website. But that didn’t really go to plan. I wrote a couple of chapters and thought “hey I really like this” so I kept writing on and about five chapters in I realised I was wrong. Sure it was sort of an impulse thought, because as you know, I had originally intended to find a publisher for the “big project” but lately I haven’t been working on that or re-editing it because I wanted to write some more for the website. But as I wrote more for the website, as I wrote more of this project for the website, that is designed to be a series, I realised that I loved it. Like, I looked at what I had written and thought “holy crap this is some of my very best work” and so I thought, could this have a bigger life than what I can give it on the website. So with that thought in mind my next thought was, “should I think about not posting it to the website straight away, could this be something worth being published.”
That is how in one short night I ended up writing two chapters, a synopsis on the quick fly and a quick cover letter. I then started to just send off to one agent and then another and another. A week later I had collected three rejections. Three “no’s” closer to a “yes” I suppose.
And it is really hard to not get caught up in the rejection. Wondering if I should really be doing this. The answer is yes. I have to take a risk on myself because this one piece has been the most fun to write in a long old time. It happens to be a fun idea, it feels like some of the most fun I have had writing in a while. I have called the series The Dollhouse. It has a meaning down the line. But I do love writing it. It is nice to write something a little flirty and sensual. Sure it will never be a fifty shades type deal. I don’t want to write or rewrite something like that, no matter how many times people tell me I should. I don’t want to be using something that doesn’t inspire me, I don’t want to follow my non-writing Nana’s advice and write a “bodice ripper”. I think it is safe to say by now that you all know that isn’t exactly my style. I know they say sex sells, but why can’t flirtatious ideas and sensuality be something that sells? With a heavy element in the fantasy realms.
So sure this is my first hurdle, a week of rejection will get closer to the yes I want.
I am sure writing a synopsis drives every writer who has ever had to write one mad. It drives me mad for sure. I hate doing them. But that is just part of the process.
So I suppose given that I will probably post a bit of The Dollhouse series soon just to show you what it is that got me so excited and pumped up enough that I thought “wow I could have a shot with this”, I could perhaps tell you a little about it.
The Dollhouse is a series where there is a dual narrator. It will have two leading females. One who is “good” and one who is “bad” but I am hoping it won’t be that black and white. I want it to challenge the idea of good and evil and the battle of it. I want it to be fun and flirty because that is what it feels like when I write this project. I feel the fun and flirty-ness of the story even if it is ultimately what is good and evil and how do you quantify what is the proper path.
Writing is something that you have to love if you are going to believe in yourself enough to let other people read it. I don’t have to love myself to write. I have to write and then I get that bit closer to loving myself. It is showing myself that self love of doing something I enjoy. Fantasising. It took a long long time for me to stop keeping these fantasies and stories to myself and to start writing them down. That felt like such a giant leap at the time. Putting my thoughts to words that make these worlds and stories I dreamed of real. It felt like a risk at first. Now it feels like the biggest risk is not believing in myself enough to pursue it and keep writing and keep putting myself out there.
So I suppose I will have to let you know what happens the more I keep putting my writing out there and giving it the best shot I can give it.
May luck and adventure be on your side.
ARA
xxx

The Diary of Elliot Parker

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

.: Entry One-Hundred and Nineteen :.

My name is Elliot Parker. I thought I would know how this would feel. I thought by now I would feel closure and right now, I don’t know if I feel much at all.

Sometimes, it feels like I have been fighting my own sense of hopelessness since I can remember, something that I was taught I must do, not the fighting part, the feeling hopeless part. Since I can remember I suppose I could say, for a long time, a large amount of time I contended with the feeling of depression. It is something that feels like I have been fighting for an eternity. The melancholy of life. Sometimes I do really well at fighting it, there are days that are flawless happiness and joy. The come downs from that often feel especially hard hitting. More and more, from beginning this diary, to now, coming to the close, it is safe to say I have been having more days of happiness and joy.

Even if sometimes, I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I haven’t spoken to my mother willingly of my own volition for months now. I don’t even know if it bothers her. I keep out of it, keep out of her way. Part of me misses it, her, having a mother. But for quite a few years she’s not acted like a mother. Not at all. I suppose I still grieve for normality, for having the idea of a normal mother. And I know that Dyl’s mum and dad have sort of accepted me as part of the family, to be fair it didn’t take them long. And I know I have my step mum, and our relationship is getting better. But there is a part of me, I suppose to a biological extent that wishes that I could have a normal relationship with my birth mother that isn’t filled with animosity and hurt. It’s hard to accept. I think the words I am looking to explain this feeling is ambiguous loss. Physically she is still alive, and yet I grieve the mother daughter bond. I suppose it could even be a tiny bit Stockholm syndrome, that thing where you have this incredibly abusive (in my case emotionally) relationship that when you are freed from your abuser you still feel this connection. Like you are still meant to love them. I don’t know if what I am saying here is 100% correct. But trying to find words for this, to find some kind of closure is hard.

And I know when Dyl and I eventually get married she won’t be invited, because I have learned to protect my happiness and my life from her. It is easy to feel at a loss when I think about that, and the impact of it, because I do deserve to have a mother of the bride. But that will be my step mother’s place. I know reconciliation is not an option.

I know that when Dyl and I eventually have children, that my mother will never meet them, if I can help it. I don’t want her near me so why would I want her around them. I want to keep my children safe and happy and healthy. Introducing her to the mix will make confusion, pain and hurt dish of the day. That is not what I want. I want them to have the stability and safety that I never had. I don’t want them worrying all day or all night if they made a mistake. I don’t want them to be scared of me, or be scared to come to me with anything. I don’t want them to be scared or feel like they have to hide their happiness or joy or success. I want them to feel like I always have their best interest at heart and not some hidden agenda. I don’t want to be my mother; I want to be better than the example I had.

That’s the thing though, by knowing what we don’t want or who we don’t want to be we more accurately know what we want and who we want to be. That is the beauty of the unwanted and wanted. It gives you this clarity.

It is through acknowledging this discomfort I have been feeling I have come to accept it. I know what I want now. I want to be happy. I want to feel excited by the prospect of one day getting married to the love of my life, who makes me happy without trying. I want to feel like there is nothing missing, because there is nothing missing, because I know at least one of the two mother figures in my life will get to take the mother of the bride seat, the other will take the mother of the groom seat. I know that my step mum will be a wonderful grandma when I have kids, that she will be the only grandma that they know from my side of the bloodline, I am sure Dyl’s mum will be wonderful too. I know that these kids that will one day happen will know they are loved and will have some wonderful female role models, and some wonderful male role models too. I am certain that they will feel safe and happy and healthy. I am looking forward to meeting these one day kids of mine and watching them become happy, healthy adults who know inherently they are loved and that they are amazing without trying. They will be wonderful deliberate creators and I want to encourage that connection with themselves so that the next generation can understand who they are and not feel all the pain and discord of not knowing how wonderful they are.

So I might be a kooky mum, but I am sure I will be strict to a degree, I want the best for them, and they aren’t even here yet, just twinkles in our eyes.

The Diary of Elliot Parker will release very soon… so here is the Pre-Order link for Ninety-One to One hundred and Twenty!  Releasing 22nd September 2018

Or if you want the whole collection in one neat and tidy book, here is the Pre-Order link for the Complete Collection! Releasing 13th October 2018

The seaside

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

What happened at the seaside?

Well I will start at the beginning.
We got to Brighton about 12ish, but our hotel reservation check in wasn’t until 3pm. Which was a small pain in the bum so we went to the hotel and ended up paying for an early check in. We went to our room which was nice and clean and tidy. Sorted out our bags so we only had to take a mini picnic blanket and sun cream with us to the beach. We went down and walked along the sea front going past the restaurants etc. We walked past an “organic” burger place. Which gave us a giggle, simply because we didn’t think we would actually eat there. We went and got some shellfish, discovered we hate whelks. We thought we would really splash out a bit on shellfish and enjoy our time there, so we got a small pot of lobster, some cockles, some crayfish, some pinks, I even tried my first ever oyster. Not sure how I felt about that, it was nice but so weird and slimy. Turns out the other half likes fresh cockles.
We played hook a duck and I won a tuck with sunglasses on it. We went and had a waffle on a stick- I think they used to be nicer when I was a kid. We had some fresh donuts which were awesome. We went into the arcade and had fun, we won some teddies on the claw machines, had fun on all the other games, we actually did ok at basket ball together. It was generally just silly fun. We went for a walk around the lanes and discovered a shop full of rubber ducks. We went to Chockywockydoodah and I think we were both a little disappointed by it, it was a bit underwhelming. We saw lots of jewelry.
We ended up going to the Sea life centre, we both thought it seemed bigger when we were kids but it was fun and we saw the fishes and sharks going under neath our little glass bottom boat thing. Weirded me out a bit. But the boat tour was really nice all the same.
We went to the pier after that and then went down to the beach for dinner and ended up at the organic place because everywhere else seemed to not do fish and chips and seemed to be shutting. Turns out it was a gorgeous fish and chips, we loved it and barely breathed we inhaled our dinner. We went for another little walk and when we got to our hotel rooms, showered off some sun cream and finally sat on the bed, we were fast asleep in seconds we were so tired!
We ended up getting a late check out too to give ourselves more freedom. We went to the Breakfast Club for breakkie, we both had the All American, he had scrambled eggs but I had poached. Pancakes, bacon, fried potatoes, sausage and eggs… My eggs seemed to look a bit testicular in shape which gave us a giggle. The food was great. We went to the rubber duck shop and got some duckies. Then we went for fish and chips on the pier followed by donuts by the sea. We saved dipping our feet in the water till last before we had to make our way back home.
But safe to say it was a wonderful trip and we made some memories and had lots of fun goofing around.
May luck and adventure be on your side.
ARA
xxx

Getting ready for the seaside

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

So, after quite a few years I am going to the seaside this summer.

It has been an incredibly long time since I last went to the beach. So I figured, hey why not follow this idea of mine and just go to the nearest seaside in a long time, Brighton. Sure it is a train ride away but still. I thought, well, I have a couple of days off of work in a row so I thought hey, lets go to Brighton for a night.
It seems to be that I am following more and more impulses, sometimes the impulses lead to spending some money. But I thought it was about time I start living. I want to be living more than I used to, I am feeling my freedom.
So even though I am feeling my freedom and choosing what I want I am still going to find ways to save money. So I have booked into the Travelodge because I know there is a consistent standard that can be expected, mainly cleanliness. I think I have probably seen way too many episodes of Hotel Hell. Travelodge just seems like a standard basic but hygenic option. But I couldn’t just go on the site and book a room, nope I decided to go through topcashback simply because hey why not… I got just under £4 back. No complaints there.
Next up comes the joy of calculating train fares and working out how to make it cheaper. Well… It is looking likely that just getting a return ticket will be my best route sadly. Either way its going to be at least £30 as long as I can time it as off-peak. Though that works out OK for me because I am not sure I will want to do early mornings to go enjoy some time at the beach.
So the plan so far is to get there about lunch time-ish, have some lunch somewhere probably on the beach. Then go check into the hotel, get changed and go out to dinner and the arcade. I don’t think it’s entirely worth booking an early check in. I’m not planning on taking a big old bag either so it won’t be too much hassle to carry it around. So obviously the dinner means time to sleep and bed. The next day, get ready and get checked out. Find some breakfast somewhere and probably go back to the arcade or something. Eventually I suppose I should hop on the train home.
But I am looking forward to my little trip to the seaside. I wanna get a stick of rock, it’s an old thing, but still, why not. It’s traditional.
So outfits? Well, travelling there, shorts and a vest top with trainers. The change of outfit for dinner? A nice new t-shirt that I got a few sizes too big to use as a dress, some nude flip-flops and a belt and necklace to make the outfit look super cute! I reckon the most make up will be some mascara and lip balm. I even got a silly hat to hopefully keep the sun off of the tattoos on the back of my neck.
I am taking factor 50 sun cream to prevent looking like a lobster.
So with any luck this little mini break night away will make a refreshing change and I will come back feeling ready to keep at it. But I know I am going to have tonnes of fun because I am not going alone. The other half is coming with me, so I don’t doubt that I will have someone to keep my thoughts distracted, especially when he gets into the arcade. So hopefully he will have just as much fun as I hope to have.
I can’t wait to just spend some quality romantic time away from “life” without thinking about work.
Anyway…
May luck and adventure be on your side.
ARA
xxx

The 2018 Project

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

So it seems to be that not many of these goals so far can be ticked off. However I have now created a writing schedule. And with that comes a regular day to day schedule. Which so far has been tricky to stick too but I am determined to try.

Oh oh and I finished writing The Diary of Elliot Parker (4)!!! I forgot to mention… so that gets to be ticked off!!!!!! YAY

I haven’t finished the cable knit jumper yet. But I have just finished two scarves so I am hoping that can count maybe as a half a goal done?

Hair is still growing, though I think I underestimated the care that growing your hair out takes. I am still working on those daily positives and have added a further two notebooks for sort of related things.

At the moment fitting in that blue dress isn’t looking likely. But safe to say, I am enjoying this year abundantly.

24/7 Goals:

  1. Do Nanowrimo
  2. Write The Diary of Elliot Parker (4)
  3. Draft up book 2 of The Big Project
  4. Re-edit book 1 of The Big Project
  5. Edit book 2 of The Big Project
  6. Learn to drive
  7. See a West End show
  8. Complete at least one of the tattoos
  9. Improve on last year’s site views
  10. Keep learning guitar
  11. Create and keep a manageable writing schedule
  12. Look for/find an agent for The Big Project
  13. Finish the cable knit jumper
  14. Start and finish a cross stitch project
  15. Win the lotto jackpot
  16. Keep growing hair out
  17. Keep doing daily positive aspects
  18. Complete at least one minor savings goal
  19. Have Christmas wrapped up before October 31st
  20. Read around 12 books at least over the year for fun…
  21. Be more time efficient, come up with a better schedule.
  22. Fit into the blue dress again and go somewhere to celebrate it
  23. Begin writing the next big project for the site
  24. Enjoy 2018 as much as possible, be happy at every chance!!!!

3/7 goals complete!