Allure Magazine is one of the many magazines that only consist of ads

Allure magazine is basically just one big assortment of ads, or at least that’s the conclusion I’ve come to after receiving multiple magazines from them. I recently started getting the magazines in the mail (I didn’t sign up for them, I think an ex somehow sent them to me), but I only recently got the chance to flip through them. I was expecting to find articles on beauty, but I wasn’t prepared for a magazine that blurred the line between ads and articles so much that I couldn’t tell which was which. I had seen a video online last year that pointed out the insane amount of ads in a normal women’s magazine, but it didn’t say anything about the content inside. Basically, the articles were all things such as ‘insert celebrity’s’ makeup bag, or the top ten best beauty products for fall. I understand that Allure is a beauty magazine and the main reason for its existence is to sell beauty products, but there are better beauty stores out there that can be shared. I even have a beauty story of my own that I would love to share with the magazine (How my now ex-boyfriend changed my relationship with beauty), but I doubt the magazine will ever run stories that go beyond the products they are paid to promote. To me, beauty has always been something personal and I believe every woman has a beauty story. There are women in this world who aren’t allowed to express themselves through beauty, so don’t you owe the people who actually buy your magazine stories that actually have some substance to them? I looked around on your website and found a few articles that I would have loved to see in the magazine that was delivered to my door, so I can’t help but wonder why you had to hide them away on your website? I haven’t really read many women’s magazines in the last few years, but the ones I have read have all been the same. I honestly wish that I could create my own magazine full of unedited voiced from around the world. I feel like there’s so much we can learn from each other, even when it comes to beauty. Allure, please look at the content you put out and considering adding new authors to your publication. 

Twitter/Facebook/Amazon Author Page 

I'm a writer...in progress

I'm an author, a writer, a person who sits at the keyboard and bleeds words all over a document. It feels so good to admit it, but haven't I always admitted it? I have a blog where I write about my adventures in self publishing. I share my many set backs and my accomplishments. I have a book for sale on amazon (Zombie Bite) and I'm about to have another book available soon, but I don't introduce myself to others as an author. I don't hand out my business cards, or do anything to bring attention to me. It's almost like I'm ashamed to admit that I'm a writer. Why? Do I feel like people will judge me or my work? Well, yes, I do feel like that. Whenever I tell people that I'm a writer I feel like I have to live up to a certain standard. I feel like I can't make mistakes and even my blog has to be 100 percent error free. At work I throw away papers that I've written on if I feel like I may have misspelled a word or that the word doesn't look right written out. I hold myself to such a high standard that I end up hiding this part of myself. Why do I do that? Is it because I get negative comments about the amount of money authors make? Maybe because I had a coworker tell me that there were plenty of writers and there was no way that I could stand out and make a living. Maybe it's because the ex that I thought I would marry showed no interest in my writing. He never once asked to read my writing, and he also never encouraged me (even after I said we should write children's books together based on my dogs). It could also be because I don't think Zombie Bite is very good. I wrote everything but the opening when I was in a dark place. I had just been through a break up and wanted to get it out there because I needed to be successful at something. I regret the way I ended Zombie Bite, but that doesn't mean that I regret writing it. I need to own the fact that I'm a writer, an author, and push myself outside of my comfort zone. I need to pass out business cards in my spare time and promote my books on social media. There will always be people who don't like me or my writing, but that doesn't change the fact that I am a writer and a published author.

So what's up with Hair of The Wolf?

I meant to post this earlier, but I've been busy. I recently posted an image and blurb for a new book after insisting Hair of the Wolf was coming soon for about a year. The book is still coming, but during the editing process I found that it lacks structure. It's longer than anything I've ever written, but it's all over the place. I use word when I write and I write each chapter in a different word document before putting them all together. While constructing the final project I noticed that a bunch of things were out of order and I need to fix those errors. Basically, the novel is still coming, but will take longer to edit.

Coming Soon!

“What did you think, that I could just look into a crystal ball and give you the winning lotto numbers? No, sorry, I’m not magic.”

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you could see ghosts? At just five years old Kenzie was forced to see them. As she grows older, the cruel gift haunts every aspect of her life, especially her social life. She is just learning to cope with her ability a former friend comes back into her life, demanding her help.    

Website

I have decided that I need a website. As much as I love my blog, I don't update it daily. I will be looking into building a website within the next few months. Also, I will address that new book cover and what's going on with Hair Of The Wolf soon.

What Charmed has taught me about storytelling

I want to start by saying that I have a love/hate relationship with the show Charmed. I never watched it when it was in its original run, but I caught reruns on TNT when waiting for Supernatural to come on. I remember thinking that the show was cool at first and then quickly growing bored with it. I can even remember a conversation that I had with one of my coworkers about it. They asked me why I didn't like the show and I thought it was more of a 'monster of the episode' show where the same thing happens every episode. It was one of those shows that were just entertaining enough for me to watch on a day when I didn't feel like thinking about much. I always wanted to like the show (since it clearly wanted to showcase strong women). I recently saw that Charmed was on netflix and thought to myself 'what the heck, I'll give it another chance'. I'm kind of glad that I did give it another chance because it taught me a lot about storytelling. One of the things I struggled with while writing Zombie Bite was character development and just development over time. Charmed has development, witches struggling to balance their personal wants and needs with what is expected of them. In almost every episode one of the sisters gets a new power or something happens to them that they have to explore. I really enjoyed seeing how that was handled. It wasn't like 'Prue got a new power and suddenly she knows what to do with it', it was more like Prue got a new power and she's struggling to control it. Anyway, Charmed has taught me a lot more than I would have thought it would upon the second viewing.

Zombie Bite is now in paperback!

Zombie Bite is now in paperback! You can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521084637