10 years of books ~~ and, Christmas is coming!

 

I realised just the other day that it’s been ten years since I started writing and publishing my books. It was in 2015 that I took the plunge and published a little series of books based on my blog How to be Chic (which is still up, the archives going all the way back to 2010).

Then, I plucked the courage up from who knows where, and finished writing the book I’d been stop-starting on for years, and published that too. That book is called Thirty Chic Days. And it grew from there. Some years I only published one book, and others, I published 4-6 books.

But even in the times when my writing was slow, and I felt like hiding away instead of being visible, I still kept on going. And that’s the secret to any success I think. You just keep on going. And, fan the flames of excitement for yourself. If there is something you really, really want to do but have lost your enthusiasm for, get it back up again in whatever way you need to. (Often for me what helps is to revisit early inspiration).

That’s really the crux of all my books, making your life better and achieving the goals you’ve set whether they are tiny or huge, and making it fun and playful and easy. Life is too short to make anything a grueling challenge.

I was listening to something the other day which said ‘how you get there is how you will experience it’, which is so true.

With my writing, it’s interspersed with me living a lovely life. I’m not holed up in my office locked in until I’ve typed 5,000 words. That doesn’t work for me. I need to have it feel light and effortless for the words to flow.

Whatever project you want to undertake, whether it’s organising your closet or pantry, getting fit and healthy, or… writing a book, find out how to make it the most fun for you. Find the angle that sparks you off.

And yay to me for ten years of writing books! I can toot my horn for that!

 

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My sister arrived back from a trip to NYC last week, and bought this candle as a gift for our mum.

 

I was visiting when it arrived, so we had to give it a little test run 😊 Just to make sure it worked at Christmastime. Totally reasonable right?

It smells so pretty! ‘Fresh cut pine, cinnamon sugar and toasted marshmallow’ and it’s not too pine-y.

My sister was kind enough to indulge me with a few Click and Collect orders from Bath and Body Works so now I have lots of lovely new scents to enjoy.

I used to prefer the lotions and creams, but now I love the body mists, which I keep in my office on a shelf for an uplifting spritz throughout the day. They power my writing and creating!

My sister said Paul must have ‘nostrils of steel’ with all the scented candles and fragrance mists I have 😂 Luckily he likes them too 🥰

Are you a fan? I know the blow-your-socks off scents aren’t for everyone, but for me, when I discovered Bath and Body Works in 2013 on our first trip to Hawaii I was HOOKED. I thought I’d discovered nirvana 🤣

We can’t buy them here sadly and they don’t ship to New Zealand. The price to freight forward is cost-prohibitive so I make the most of any holidays overseas (rare) or family members travelling (lucky them haha).

Are you a fan? Do you too have nostrils of steel? 😂

Let me know your favourite scents if you are!

I love all the cakey gourmand flavours, the Everyday Luxuries range (Pink Obsessed is so good!) and basically having a variety to let me choose what I feel like wearing that day.

 

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If you are a cozy mystery fan like I am (among the many genres of books I enjoy) and would like a little taste of New Zealand, specifically the village of Havelock North in Hawke’s Bay where I grew up and still live near, I can heartily recommend the Bookshop Detective series.

 

 

The books are funny, light-hearted, and heartwarming too. I always like it when books (or movies or series) have ‘heart’, and this book does.

And the mysteries are good too!

I’ve just finished the second book pictured here, but I can only see the first book (with a red cover: ‘Dead Girl Gone’) on Amazon. But you will probably want to start with the first book anyway 😊

Here is the Amazon link to book 1.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries then I think you’ll really like this series. And it’s extra fun for me to sleuth out the businesses referenced and what their real names are.

I can help out with any uniquely New Zealand references that may baffle you, but it’s so well-written that there shouldn’t be too many of those.

Happy reading if you decide to try this series!

With all my best from a warm, rainy spring day in Hawke’s Bay,

xx Fiona

PS. I saw Christmas mugs and candles in the shops yesterday! I suppose it is October now and can be expected.

In case you want to do a little plotting and planning on how best to enjoy your Christmas, read (or re-read) my book A Chic and Simple Christmas and work out how you can best enjoy the holiday season this year and every year.

In this book you can read how I made my Christmas time more magical by minimising or changing the things that stressed me out, and doing more of the things that really bring out the best in Christmas for me. And you can do the same.

 

 

[My Amazon links are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase using these links. It’s no extra cost to you, so I really appreciate it if you choose to use my links for any Amazon purchases you might be making!]