Tag: self help

I admire people who write books!!!

It’s not an easy task….. Storylines, plots, characters, settings, there is sooooo much you need to invest in to get a great story happening.

As I have mentioned before, my favourite book so far is “The Governess of Highland Hall” by Carrie Turansky. She is an eloquent writer and I JUST finished “A Refuge at Highland Hall“, where the main characters were different to the first! I eagerly read on to find out how the friendship between Penny and Alex unfolded. I loved how they wrote to each other with such warm regards. It was a very heart warming kind of read and the picture of it is on the blog, My Book Collection. The ending was satisfying and it just finished off so well and exactly how I liked it! It left me feeling giddy and romantic on the inside!!!

I have decided to move onto “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte which is also mentioned in my previous blog on books.

I always remember the start how she curled up behind the curtain sitting by the window reading a book because I can so relate to that! Hiding away from the world and getting caught up in a world of fantasy and intrigue. It is what I do mostly with my time. Apart from shopping and drinking coffee, book reading is my first love!

I have so much more I want to add to the list but I think 20 books a year is enough to keep you going. What I have listed are a great collection and I think it will keep me busy which is what I want. I love keeping busy, and reading and writing are on TOP of the list. I’m a lover of the Good Reads app which keeps everything shelved and in the right piles. My granny was a writer, so if I could follow in her footsteps and be anything like her I would feel successful. She married a Western Australian author, Donald Stuart and he wrote a number of books which were mainly to do with farms, aboriginal heritage and such. It is very Australian!

I am enjoying Season Six of Downton Abbey and am stoked about a few of the scenes so far! Because I am in Australia I am up to Episode 5 and won’t see it till next Monday!!!

Now, I have created a “What to buy list” and NUMBER ONE is a book called “Not by Sight” by Kate Breslin. It is apparently set in World War II and was inspired by Season 2 of Downton Abbey. I can’t WAIT to buy this book!!!! I came across it on Carrie Turansky’s website. She has a blog as well and recommends books that are similar to hers and in the same time period. You can sign up to her newsletter and get updated with what she is doing regarding her blog, and novel writing. Well, you can do that with BOTH authors!!

So, I decided to google the word “blog” and there was an informative definition on Wikipedia, but what got me the most was that it can be seen as a social networking service. When I think about it, I love the idea that I can build social relations with my readers and even other bloggers!!! Such as my favourite bloggers that I mentioned on “My TOP 10 Favourite Bloggers“.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw “937” followers and I still can not believe it TODAY. I never thought I would be doing something as fulfilling as this. Even if I don’t get comments, 937 people are “special” to me and I hope I can produce even BETTER content in the NEXT post!!! I hope YOU are enjoying reading my blog! YOU are why I keep on going, and I have not had as much fun in my life!!! I see my blog posts as more personal rather than business minded. Although, I would LOVE the idea of creating it as a business! Who’s to know what will eventually happen!!!! Writing for a magazine would be fun! and there are plenty of dream jobs out there. I like the idea of branding and creating something out of my name, ‘Exquisite Emmalisa’. I’m full of creative ideas and want to put it into good use. Whether I have a lot of followers or not, my goal is to create a space where I can convey my thoughts and ideas or creations into one whole diary.

When I was a teenager I was BIG on journaling and I feel as an adult now, that this is in replacement for that! I can share with you my creative ideas and thoughts on fashion, travel, beauty and everything else about life!!!! I love conversing about motivational books as well, and motivational quotes speak to me to help me in certain times.

With this blog I did something different to every other blog I posted. I handwrote it. When typing, things come flooding to me but it feels that when you hand write it, it is more intimate when writing it by pen. I am sure a lot of people would agree with me, that writing it down yourself makes it more personal. I could go on and on, but the main thing is that I wanted to post something more on an intimate level now that I know how many people are following.

I think it can be a big responsibility and that you have to be accountable for what you say and do when you have a big following, but like I said “how many followers is not important“, it is what you do for yourself that counts, and I take responsibility to everything that I write on here.

I have borrowed two books from the library, “How to be a writer” – Building your creative skills through practice and play” by Barabaa Baig and “Creative Web Writing” by Jane Dorner. If you are new to blogging, I suggest that you go to the library, – what better place to start!! and go through the “Arts” section. You never know, you could be well on your way to writing a bestseller. I went to do a Proofreading and Editing course in Melbourne with Australian Colleges, and completed all tutorials, but lost the last assignment in the post, so never got the qualification. I have all the tutorials, and know exactly what I did. So maybe a course like that is for you! Now that I have done it, I have more of an eye for editing, and grammar. I love correcting work, but not sure about having it as an actual job!! It used to be a dream job to me…. but my pathway is probably going in a different direction now.

Find a book in the library that you like. I know that they say “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, but I am a sucker for covers, if something is really pretty and has an excellent title to go with it, I grab it!!!! My eyes light up like a Christmas tree when I see a new Sophie Kinsella book come out!

So, happy reading, and enjoy life as a blogger/writer…. Or whatever YOU do.

I’ll tell you now, this is on my list now, “London’s Afternoon Teas”. It looks exquisite and an excellent guide to venues in the heart of London. I want to get this for when I GO there!!! and I still CAN NOT wait!!!!

What was the last book you read?

How many books are you reading this year?

Can you share a favourite book of yours?