Tag Archives: blogging

10 Lessons I Learned From 6 Years of Blogging #Blogger

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This is a strange time to be living in right now. The world feels like it’s in chaos. So, this week I have decided to write about something which gives me strength and makes me positive; my blog.

I am a few weeks away from my 6th year blogging anniversary. Still can’t believe I have been blogging for that long. What started out as something to give me a break from my squabbling children, rugby mad husband and boisterous pets on wet Sunday afternoons has turned into a big part of my life.

Here are 10 lessons from my 6 years of blogging:

1. Blogging is like a fertile creative soil and other things grow from it. This is the thing which has surprised me. My blog has grown and nurtured so many creative projects; my Roxy Collins diary which went super crazy on Wattpad, my Roxy Collins podcast which I recorded whilst locked inside my teenage daughter’s cupboard every Friday after a few gin & tonics, my novel, my book blogging and a LOT of short stories.

2. My happiest times have been when I stopped caring about blog stats. When I wrote The Diary of Roxy Collins as a weekly serial I never gave two hoots about my blog stats. This was one of my best times as a blogger. There’s something in this because when I recorded my podcast deep inside my daughter’s shoe cupboard and put each episode live I didn’t care about stats or numbers. I had so much fun. It lit me upside. Like someone had turned on a light. It was only when I started looking at my blog stats and podcast data that the good times ended.

3. The bad blogging times have been signals in disguise that I need to change direction. Looking back now I can see this more clearly. However, when you are fed up with blogging and can’t face turning up to write a post each week it’s hard to see. All my bad blogging times have been the start of change.

4. Blogging breaks are marvellous things. You don’t have to quit blogging, you just need a break. I am so glad I found blogging breaks and took them. It’s so nice to come back after a few months feeling rejuvenated and created.

5. Blogging is a stress buster. Writing a blog post is for me one of the best ways to relieve stress.

6. Blogs are like trees. They take years of nurture and love to grow. They will chart your creative journey and they will one day bear creative fruits. These fruits might not bring you fame and fortune but they will be of great value to you in other ways. The great thing about life is that you won’t be able to see their value straightaway. One day you will stop and think – ‘wow – that blog post changed my life.’

7. Getting my blog links to work was one of my biggest struggles. Oh my goodness – other bloggers struggle with SEO rankings and branding. Me – well I struggled with copying, pasting and inserting a link into a little box for 2 YEARS! 🙈

8. My blog has been a great teacher. Its taught me about all sorts of things like checking for typos, grammar and resilience.

9. Fictional characters who were born inside my blog posts will never leave me. Roxy Collins – I will do something with you. I promise ❤️

10. I have met some fabulous and life changing people on my blog. They have been a huge part of my journey and without them I wouldn’t be here today.

Thank you to everyone who reads, comments and shares my posts week in and week out. You are all fabulous. 🌸📚

If you don’t have a blog and want something creative to do during these strange times, I would strongly recommend starting one. Blogs are great stress busters, they make excellent journals and you never know what might come of it 📚

#TuesdayBookBlog ‘Mr Make Believe’ by @beezymarsh. Includes Unforgettable Movie Star Character ❤️, Motherhood Chaos & Much Hilarity

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You find me in what I call, ‘Book Recovery’ mode (lying in state on the sofa, a cold compress over my forehead, a concerned dog sat watching me and an electric fan blowing cool air over me).

I know this is controversial but I believe romance readers have a harder time getting over a good book than readers of other genres. This is where all the crime readers, who read my blog, start shouting about how they have to recover from grizzly murder scenes etc and all the historical fiction readers moan about how they have to adjust to modern-day living after hanging out in another time period for a few weeks, but I don’t agree. With romance novels we have to wait for our emotions to settle down before starting another book, we can feel churned up for weeks and we have to GET OVER our character crushes. I often fall for the male characters of romance novels and it’s not easy forcing myself to stop loving my fictional love interest.

The reason why I am in ‘book recovery mode‘ is due to a male character in Beezy Marsh’s ‘Mr Make Believe’ who is quite simply – divine. For me the sign of a good romance novel is a strong character who draws me to them like a magnet.

This one is called Maddox Wolfe. He’s the main character’s movie star crush and he is over 6ft, lean, hunky and features heavily in her (and my own) fantasies throughout the book.

Moving on swiftly, let’s get on with the review of ‘Mr Make Believe’ by Beezy Marsh.

What did you think of the blurb?

The blurb talked about Marnie, a struggling, stay at home mum, whose life revolved around sock matching, the ironing pile, having fantasies about her movie star crush and wondering why her life had not gone to plan.

In a moment of madness Marnie starts a blog and becomes the voice of imperfect mums everywhere. Not only this but she comes into real life contact with her favourite film actor and things get chaotic.

The blurb was certainly enticing and as a frazzled mummy myself I could relate to Marnie’s situation. My blog is the voice of imperfect writers and after a chance meeting with Brad Pitt my life could also get chaotic.

What did you think of the main female character?

I loved Marnie. She enjoys wearing baggy sweatshirts, furry slipper socks and hasn’t shaved her legs for awhile. There is a clothing mountain, languishing in a wicker basket in the corner of her bedroom, the nearest thing to exercise she does is lifting coffee cups to her lips and she describes her chest as possessing a massive mono-boob.

Marnie is hilarious. At the start of the book she’s deep in the trenches of motherhood, questioning her marriage and reading a saucy novel, ‘Harsh Winter’ based on Maddox Wolfe’s on screen character. The opening chapters are so funny.

Her children are young and demanding which is realistic and they provide some good conflict.

The blog Marnie creates is great and through it she does start to change.

I think Marnie is a great character and by the end of the book I was proud of what she’d achieved.

What did you think of the other characters?

Marnie is a failed food columinst for a newspaper. She starts to do freelance work for the newspaper again as the book progresses and her editor, Barker, is a really funny character. Some of the things he says to Marnie during her moments of chaos are fab.

I didn’t warm to Marnie’s husband, Matt, at the start of the book but I think this was what the author wanted.

Maddox Wolfe is an unforgettable male character. I know I am making him sound like a perfect male character, he isn’t, he has issues in the book which I liked. No one wants a perfect male character. I just loved how the author painted this picture of an older movie star, a bit rough round the edges and combined this with his flirty, almost cheeky dialogue. Sigh…

Were there any naughty bits?

Yes, there were naughty bits and they were written very well. They were not too naughty but saucy enough if you know what I mean. Oh my goodness, Maddox Wolfe, you made me turn on my electric fan to full power at one point!

Overall what did you think?

I really enjoyed this book. You can’t get better romantic escapism than reading about a frazzled stay at mum, who becomes a successful blogger and catches the attention of a famous movie star. It is well worth a read and I will warn you, Maddox Wolfe will leave you feeling churned up.

You can find the book by clicking here.

Take it easy readers.

Have a great day.