It’s Been How Long ???

Hello all,

I hope you have been well, happy, healthy and sane?

I had a bit of a shock when I saw how long it’s been since I last blogged. Honestly, I had no idea! I hope you didn’t think I had disappeared altogether – I hadn’t but I was going through some real life stuff, some of which I discuss on Kyle Canon’s podcast (link below).

https://tinyurl.com/56h827pp

Like all of us in this mad, mad world, I have battles and challenges to face, responsibilities, things to do, health and family stuff to contend with and not enough time (and brainpower sometimes) in which to do it all.

I bet there’s dozens of you nodding your head in avid agreement right now.

Anyhow……the lovely Kyle Canon, Author and Podcaster Extraordinaire, was kind enough to invite me back to his show for a chat and I must say, it was great to catch up and to meet his charming wife this time. It felt good to be able to discuss some of what life has been like lately and how it’s impacted mine and others creativity. This impact was one of the things distracting me from blogging and time simply got away from me.

You see, my home town is currently going through Lockdown #6 and this one has been particularly difficult to deal with. Last year’s multiple lockdowns and even the earlier ones of 2021 were easier in comparison. This time around, it all seemed so much more intense. People in general were moodier, more argumentative and combative than previous times. The longer the lockdown has continued, the greater the frustration. Hence societal tension has been at a level I’ve never seen or felt before.

I tend to be empathic to vibes and atmosphere and seeing my beautiful Melbournian people become so disheartened and frustrated has been very disconcerting. I absolutely do understand how people can feel this way – it’s difficult living a Ground Hog existence in lockdown – but I can NOT understand people’s need to categorise everything into an us/them mentality – a left/right, anti/pro stance where no commonsense logic or compassion is shown or given.

Such lack of empathy and harsh disregard for others’ viewpoint became like an ever-tightening noose around my neck and I found myself slowly sinking in the collective negativity. It was and is literally everywhere – in conversations with strangers and loved ones alike, on the news, on the radio and splashed all over social media. You can’t avoid it. The commentary online has been particularly vicious worldwide; completely devoid of any sort of basic decency or manners. The UGLY in people has seeped everywhere as ideologies butt heads and refuse to listen to one another. It’s as if we’ve lost any sense of unity, of communal good and betterment for all. Worst of all, our willingness to understand each other. And this, of course, is just one issue the world is dealing with right now, let alone the more tragic aspects of the pandemic.

It’s all simply…….too much.

Know what I mean? So many are suffering and the weight of it seemed to smother me in to some weird headspace for the longest time. And it built gradually, over months, quietly and sneakily until I finally realised what was happening.

If this sounds looney, believe me, for a while there, I thought I was losing the plot. (An author’s pun, lol). And I would never have predicted that I would react in this way but I figure it’s the accumulation of several years of world-insanity that finally got to me. I mean, all this negativity and destruction of our “normals” over the last several years – it has to get to you after a while, doesn’t it? We’re only human after all and although it affects each of us differently, I don’t think many of us can escape its wretched little claws for long.

Thankfully, I realised what was happening and started working on it (with loads and loads of meditation and mantras) and this weird creative funk I was in is dying off. 🎉Hallelujah🎉

However, it means that I have a helluva lot of revision and edits to do as everything I wrote during this time just isn’t up to my standards, such as they are. Frankly, I was quite dismayed at what I’d been writing….so completely not me and none of it ringing true to my tone and style of writing. My characters became something they weren’t supposed to be, doing things that they shouldn’t be and in my honest opinion, a big portion of it was drivel.

It’s actually very annoying how much time was wasted on these works yet……. what can one do? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ Chalk it all up as experience, right? A strange reaction to the current strangeness of the world. So, I poured myself a stiff drink (a couple of times) had a big ole whinge, pulled on my Big Girl Pants and told myself to suck it up and get on with it.

Therefore, my dear dear readers, because you guys have been so patient and I’m feeling more like my old self – let’s do a Giveaway! Its been awhile since my last one and I like giving stuff away.

I’ve yet to put all the details together and come up with the rules etc but I’ll announce it all in my next blog post. We’ll call it My Birthday Giveaway because that’s coming up in three/four days and since I can’t go anywhere to celebrate, may as well celebrate by giving stuff away, right?

Remember though that to be in my Giveaways, you have to be signed up for email notifications (so I have a way of contacting you if you win.)

What – besides books or Amazon vouchers – would you like to see as prizes? Drop me some ideas in the comments section, please. Maybe something from my Redbubble store…(see my merchandise store tab on my home page or go here…. http://www.redbubble.com/people/zelly309 )

Speaking of which, Redbubble have made caps available! Check out a couple of my designs on them – they look great, don’t you think? And even though I generally don’t wear hats because I look odd in them (too much hair/big fat head/something) I’ve already bought my cap and I’ve even worn it around the house, training myself to get used to “hat hair”. So far, it’s not going well – it’s not a good look for me, sadly. Lol.

Okay….enough for now….I’ll be back in a couple of days with some competition details. Meanwhile, make sure you’re entered and please do listen to the podcast. You might enjoy it.

Much love

Zelly309 ❤️❤️❤️❤️