I recently updated my bio to say: 'Marley writes emotionally rich women's fiction books about dysfunctional families and personal growth'. "Cool," you say, "What the heck does 'emotionally rich' mean?" Good question! Let's find out... Okay, yes, I confess... The term 'emotionally rich' is just book jargon, but it does create some expectations about a book. If a book cover says that it's 'packed with adventure,' then you're going to expect an exciting journey; If it says that

You've read the lists of things you can try when you’re creatively blocked, now here’s a list of 50 things NOT to do when feeling creatively blocked or uninspired. I simply must vacuum! Clean the fridge Vacuum the floor Cleaning of any kind Check your emails Go on social media Cry Throw away your work Berate yourself Worry that your creativity is gone forever Try to counteract the effects with excessive pride Eat an entire box of chocolates Complain Give up Stare at the wall

People find artistic inspiration in many different places. What is artistic inspiration? How can you find your own artistic inspiration? And how do these things inspire us? Buckle up, because we're going to delve into all this and more in today's blog post. First things first: What is Artistic Inspiration? Here's my definition of artistic inspiration: Something that CAUSES you to THINK/FEEL and take ACTION So, there are three parts: Making art CAUSATION The 'something' tha

Curious about the life of an indie author? What exactly does an indie author do ? Here is a list of 51 random things that indie authors do (that aren't writing) in no particular order whatsoever. Dive in! Manage social media accounts and schedule posts (this can be a MASSIVE time-suck) Pitch articles and other creative ideas (i.e. Be brave!) Obsessively check sales results, especially around launch periods (refresh, refresh, refresh) Accept rejection and criticism (= grow thi

My second stallholding experience was at Clunes Booktown Festival last weekend. Discover how it was for me as an indie author stallholder, look at the pros and cons, and contrast it with my first stallholding experience at a small, local farmer's market. Just one of the many marquees at Clunes Booktown (just before opening time) Clunes Booktown is a festival just for bibliophiles; It is ALL books. Hundreds of trestle tables set up in large marquees all the way down the main

Two months ago, I wrote this blog post: To Market, To Market: On Failure and Mentally Preparing Myself for my First Market Stall . Well, last weekend market happened, so it’s time for a post-market review and summary. Here’s what I learned, what worked, what didn’t, and how it went down. First up, I need to say that I literally lost sleep being anxious about my first market. I slept poorly for the three nights beforehand, too busy thinking (and catastrophising). I wrote this

Ask 10 different people, "What is the key to self-publishing success?" and you're likely to get a few different suggestions, but I assure you that rapid release will be at least one of those suggestions. Rapid release is not a guaranteed success strategy, but it could help. Let's discuss what it is and how it works. This is me rapidly releasing books (in case you were wondering) What is rapid release? Rapid release is when an author releases their books quickly, one after ano

I went to a funeral the other day, so allow me to get dark for a few minutes. Let's spend some time thinking, talking, and reading about death... I love you, but you’re going to die, and so am I. Yep Western culture wants us to preface that by saying “but not for a long time yet,” or “we don’t need to worry about that”. I'm not worried, and I don’t know when and that’s okay ... but death is still coming for us. I’m not being morbid or tactless, I’m being real. Death is uncomf