Wildlife Wednesday - grasshopper in hiding

I was taking a photo of my flower, when I spied antennae, then a tiny grasshopper. You just never know where little critters hide in your backyard!

Fearless Friday - returned rights

My very first published story is getting a re-run.

You may remember A Real Online Fantasy looked like this when it was with Momentum Publishing. But Momentum closed down and most of the Hot Down Under Authors had their rights reverted to them...and I have taken a very long time to do that.

I have now!

Self publishing is something that scares me - even though I think it's a great option. It scares me because I'm in total control. I have to make decisions. It's all up to me. I have to sell myself, my books, pick covers, hire editors, foot bills. That's a lot of decisions weighing on me. It means I have to believe in myself and trust my judgement. I have to be fearless in my business self.

It's taken me some years to work up to that. I've tossed a few self-published stories into the mix, and found it's not that terrifying! It's no worse than sending a book to a publisher - except I wear all the costs. But if I believe in myself, that shouldn't be too much of a worry. And if I'm careful and frugal, I should be able to make end meet, right?

In my quest to be fearless, I've backed myself. I asked for my rights back. I asked a cover designer to do me a cover. I've even added to the story, so now I have Part 2 as well as the initial Part 1.

Part 1 was when Condamine and Esquire met and acted out her fantasy.

Part 2 is when they act out his.

The new cover has completely inspired me! I think I need to do parts 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.

I promise I'll show you this fabulous cover just as soon as I have all the rights reverted and I'm able to republish my story. I'm busting to show the world!!!

But let me give you a glimpse of some branding that's got some themes from the cover.

What do you think?

Wildlife Wednesday -

Today's wildlife is the coolest caterpillar. I found him hiking along my front verandah. The pointy nose and the eyes was leading the way, with the flag out the back.

I've googled to see what he may have turned into but I'm none the wiser.

Mr E thinks I should have caught it and waited for it to turn into a butterfly, but I didn't even contemplate that. What if I'd killed it inadvertently by not feeding it correctly, or not housing it right? I may never know what it became, but i bet it was cool!!!

Sunday Story - Mary Queen of Scots

I went to the movies and saw the latest movie adaptation of Mary Queen of Scots. It’s magnificent.

It took me back to when I first became interested in the history of these times when I was in Year 8 at high school and history turned to Tudor England. I don’t think history ever captured me like that period did. I was ravenous for information. I read everything I could about Henry VIII and then branched out further and further.

I think Jean Plaidy made me love Mary Queen of Scots. This movie made me love her even more.

This movie (and this period in history) fills me with hope and hopelessness. It tugs me from one extreme to the other, and I don’t know how to reconcile that.

On the hope side: Mary and her cousin, Elizabeth I, were incredible women. Strong, fierce, intelligent, born to rule (even if they were women) and they must have commanded such a presence. Elizabeth did so much to change society, and yet, there was so much more these two women could have achieved.

And here’s where the hopelessness comes in. Men did everything they could to bring these women to a halt. The savage politics of the time, the greed and lust for power, the lies and fabrications that were woven to halt changes in society were incredible. If two Queens cannot fight that, what hope do we have?

Mary and Elizabeth, were incredibly tolerant and open-minded in a society where civil wars had been fought over religion for years. They both seemed to want to rule with compassion. Neither wanted war. Both wanted cohesion, less division, more merging and blending. They were after a world where people mattered.

And they couldn’t achieve it.

Elizabeth could not allow herself to believe that Mary wasn’t trying to take her throne. They hardly knew each other, so it was a fair assumption, but was it fuelled by the men surrounding Elizabeth who wanted power and to rule beneath the skirts of a lowly woman?

Mary wanted to love and be loved. She was fooled by men who used that need to further their own political agenda.

Elizabeth resisted marriage, fearing for her rule. Mary married hoping for love, only to find herself manipulated just as Elizabeth had always feared.

Women, once again, came so close to changing the power, politics, patriarchal structures of the world. Yet men fought against any change. They banded together and used every tactic they could to stop any change. To stop peace. To stop compassion. To stop open-mindedness. To stop people being allowed to be themselves. They fought to keep their closed-minded world.

If only…