Musings of a Perfectionist

I went to IKEA today, which was fun, although I got pretty tired about halfway around the showroom. And when I get tired, there are different levels of tired. Sleepy tired-  this is when I basically become a cat (speaking of cats, I have received a lot of cat-related gifts recently...). Exhausted tired-  so exhausted that I can't keep my eyes open. Will probably just fall asleep no matter where I am. Loony tired-  tired to the point of (almost) insanity. I say weird stuff (that should be written down because it would make a bestselling comedic book) and people tend to laugh at me (or call me cute. I don't know which is worse). But I was loony tired in IKEA, which was probably the highlight of my trip. That, or me leaving my phone in the toilet and having to go back and get it- scariest minute of my life. Moving on to why we went to IKEA- so that I could get some more storage boxes/folders (and my family bought stuff as well) because the best part of Chris...

As Christmas Day gets ever nearer (by the hours!), I have thought of an important question for you all. Is the magic of Christmas lost as you grow older? When you're a child, Christmas is about the simple magic of Santa and stockings and unwrapping presents from relatives and friends as quickly as you can. But as you get older, Christmas becomes a time when your waistband becomes a little tighter (although it is good food) and your wallet becomes a little slimmer. Presents need to be wrapped, shopping needs to be done, food needs to be prepared, cards need to be written. Christmas seems to have lost its magic, the spark that lights that warm glow in our childish chests. The magic has disappeared into timelines and budgets and preparation and worry. However. Maybe not it all lost. Maybe Christmas is still magical, even for grown-ups (teenagers are probably a different story (an anomaly more like) altogether, both being captured by the magic and disgusted by it). Mayb...

Yay for the holidays! School is over until 2019, and I am not the only one who is grateful for this (at least...I'm pretty sure I'm not?) Do I have a lot to do over the holidays? Sadly, yes. Some are things that I have to do (homework, revision) and some are things that I should do (sort out my shelves (because we moved house in September and while everything is out of boxes, it's not sorted out)) and some are things that I want to do (writing!). But I'll also make sure that I enjoy Christmas this year, especially being able to spend time with family. Even though it will be loud and intense and full of playing board games (or Pictionary, because our family is awesome) I'll enjoy it all. Every minute. A few years ago, my dad ended up in hospital for a bit just before Christmas. It was terrifying, especially as no one really knew what was wrong with him and I was round a friend's house when it happened- so I found out when I glanced at my phone while p...

You're reading a post written by a fully fledged published author. Indeed, it is true. 'The Forgotten Ones' can be bought from Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and the Apple Book Store. It is not on Amazon, for reasons that I will explain soon. Hopefully, it will be on Amazon soon, and I'll let you know when that happens. ☺️ Anyway, on with the story as to why my novel is not on Amazon. Read on. Basically, I was going to publish it through Draft2Digital, but then Amazon couldn't publish it because I hadn't put on my TIN (which I don't have because I'm not American- I had to use my National Insurance Number). So I sorted it out and then emailed D2D to ask if they could resubmit it. And then I panicked and published it through Kindle Direct Publishing (which then messed with any formatting that I'd done). When I got the email from D2D to say that they had resubmitted it, I had already published it through KDP (oops). So it couldn't get published...

Do I have anything exciting/of importance to say today? No, not really. Do I feel the need to post something because it's been too long? Yes, definitely. First of all, 'The Forgotten Ones' is to be published tomorrow! *cheering* Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered it or pledged to buy it tomorrow- make sure that you leave a review! Secondly, what interesting thing has happened in my life today? That's normally what I write about, isn't it? Wow. There are a lot of questions today. Anyway, what happened? Well, we had a History lesson that was what I thought Year 11 would actually be like (inside jokes and music and *revising*). Basically, our teacher was playing music and then Rasputin (by Boney M) came on, and one person in the class said that she knew the whole dance from Just Dance. So our teacher put a YouTube video of it up and she (along with two other brave souls) danced to it while we all cheered and mostly laughed. If you've never ...

Hi guys! So, it's five days to go until the very exciting release of my book, 'The Forgotten Ones', and so I'm releasing a small extract from the novel (on Wattpad) for you to read! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you will have (hopefully) seen the cover release, but if not, check out the extract and you'll see the beautiful design. The extract can be found by clicking on  this link , and afterwards, you can pre-order it (if you wish to) on these stores, for their respective devices:  Kobo ,  Barnes and Noble  and  Amazon . It is also being sold in the Apple Book Store. This is exceedingly exciting (hey, look at the beautiful alliteration) so please spread the word and help me advertise. It would be much appreciated! ☺️ Tell me what you think of the extract on Wattpad or here (it may seem a bit weird because it's about half-way through the novel (no spoilers involved though) and nothing really happens- I'm really selling this, aren't...

Hi, guys- excellent news, I have! My novel has been finished completely (i.e. everything has been crossed off my to-do list) and it's ready to be released on the 15th December! That's 15th December , folks! Soon, I'll be releasing an extract on Wattpad, so make sure that you've subscribed to 'Musings of a Perfectionist' to get notified when I publish posts. My dream is finally coming true, although it now feels like publishing a book isn't actually that big of a deal. Is that weird? Oh well. *shrugs* Maybe it will be less underwhelming once I've actually published it (although it won't be published through Amazon because I don't have a TIN (because I'm not American) and I don't have a foreign version of the TIN, but that should be sorted out...hopefully). Anyway, to change the subject completely, I ran a Creative Writing session with four younger people from school the other day. We did some exercises in freeing the mind,...

Big news, guys- I PASSED MY FLUTE EXAM!! If I can do it, you can do it too (so good luck to all those still waiting/practising). In other news, however, have you seen the Google Doodle? Today marks the anniversary of Edith Carvell's birthday. How was Edith Carvell? I'm so glad that you asked (mostly because I'm proud of myself for knowing this- I read the Usborne History of Britain cover to cover multiple times when I was younger). Edith Carvell was a British nurse who is remembered for saving the lives of soldiers during the First World War. She helped all, without discrimination, and even helped about two hundred Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium. She was eventually arrested and executed by firing squad. What amazes me about this is the lack of discrimination. Even though she was probably terrified and it was dangerous, she helped anyone in need- even those who were on a different side to her. We're revising 'A Christmas Carol' ...

It's the day of my flute exam (good luck to anyone else doing music exams soon) but let's not dwell on that. Let's focus on better things- like my birthday, which was yesterday! I spent the day at the Good Food show with school, eating lots of food and wandering through great crowds of people. Tilly bought my birthday present there- a white chocolate and raspberry brownie. But I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for their wonderful gifts. For example, a tea advent calendar, or a bucket list of books to read, or a commisioned painting of a cat form my artist friend. My parents got me the best present though: a winter feather duvet! For those who know me well, I am always cold and I do like snuggling under blankets, so this was a brilliant present (and as my Dad said "put it on your blog" when he refused to put the duvet on my bed (although he did eventually), hey Dad!) And now it's Advent, so open your chocolates (or tea in my case) and, ...