Universal deadlines and why it’s never to late to re-write your story

On Sunday I spent the day with my mumma. It’s getting harder for her to do things now, so I’m spending as much time with her as I can. We ate…

Writer-girl Wednesday: Gemma Birss

I dig on YA fiction.

I actively seek it out when I head to a bookstore because I love a coming of age tale more than ANY other book. I also generally want to be BFFs with most YA fiction writers because…well, they’re freakin’ cool. Gemma Birss is no acceptation. G-friend is too cool for freakin’ school. Having lived in Iran, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Japan, India and France, and mixing up a juicy concoction of careers as an air hostess, artist, film maker and radio DJ, Gemma Birss is now a writer and illustrator, yoga teacher and deputy editor of Prediction magazine in London. See? Freakin’ cool, right?

Gemma’s book, Gift, tells the story  of Chipo who finds herself in rural Zimbabwe with no memory of who she is. In a spiritual coming-of-age adventure that involves witchdoctors, demons, snakes, crocodiles and magic, Chipo makes some amazing friends, meets some fascinating characters, and after discovering the dark truth of her hidden identity, comes to realise who she really is.

Come meet Gemma, she’s awesome. Fact.

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Spill your truth juice, baby!

  I never got Dr Suess as a kid, but now, if I had to choose a life-coach, that dude would most definitely be it. When I was writing my book SASSY,…

A book launch: The real deal.

So, as I mentioned last week, the book launch for my new book, SASSY: The Go-for-it Girl’s Guide to Becoming Mistress of Your Destiny, was awesome x 100000.
Gorgeous, gorgeous people, burly girls, cupcakes, pink fizz and I got to sign books using my favourite feather pen – hurrah.

Now that I’ve come down from my book-launch high, I am big on ‘fessing up so I think it’s only right and proper that I share what really went down to make that event a pink-tinted success – sharing is caring and all that – so that when YOUR book is published, and you’re planning your own event o’ book love deliciousness you’ll be able to decide whether a book store is the locale for you, who to invite, what to do with those ‘what if no one buys a book’ frets and fears and most importantly, you’ll be able to decide for yourself ‘is having dancing girls in a book store really worth the threat of having your event pulled?’

I know, I’m like the gift that keeps giving, right?

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Writer-girl Wednesday: The SASSY book launch

Book launches are funny things. I’ve been to a few and well…y’know, they were a li’l dry. Which is why, when I decided to combine the launch of SASSY with the book signing at Waterstones, Above Bar in Southampton, I figured it was going to need a substantial amount o’ SASSY-fication.

Yep, there were cupcakes made my best friend Aimee, pink fizz bought and collected by that gorgeous Viking beau o’ mine and my gorgeous Art of Motion Burlesque troupe. Add a hefty pinch of people you love and dig, mix with gorgeous girls who will potentially love your book and that, my friends, is how to make a book launch significantly SASSY.

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35 Days of Love

I am ALL about the love, which is why I am so excited to share the brand-spankin’ new programme that my gorgeous friend, Ani Richardson has launched this week – 35 Days of Love. I’m not down with affiliate links, if I dig something, I’ll share it with you, simple as that, and I dig so hard on the work that Miss Ani is doing, I was busting to share her with you!

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be a professional heart spiller

Before I was a rootin’ tootin’ business-girl who did this whole ‘running a business’ thing on my terms, I thought that being  ’professional’ meant I had to have my shit totally together. I thought I had to be super strong, polished, have just-stepped-out-of-a-salon hair and keep any flaws/cracks hidden from view.

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Why YOUR story matters

So, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’ve written a book.

I’ve written books before, and yes, that does include a Justin Beiber annual, and no, I STILL, and never will, want to talk about it, but SASSY…well, SASSY is MY story.

It’s my Eat, Pray, Love, my journey o’ self-discovery, except instead of pizza I ate chocolate, and instead of travelling to countries beginning with I, I went to Paris, so really not that similar at all, but it was one summer afternoon, while watering my pretty garden, hose pipe in one hand and my copy of Eat, Pray, Love in the other that I, like Elizabeth, broke.

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