Starting over. Changes are necessary for evolution.

Starting over. Changes are necessary for evolution.


Here I go again. I am starting over.

I have been working for over a month and a half to get to this day. Today I relaunch my website. It wasn’t a simple task for me. I am not trained for any of this. I am using The Easy Author Website; template two of three amazing options. The creator of The Easy Author Website and The Happy Writing Co, helped me to build it, I couldn’t have done it without her. Dionne and a few of my other friends have been very supportive of my journey here on the internet. Without their answers to my questions, it would not have been relaunched.

A website is never really done, is it? There is a risk of it becoming boring and people stop visiting. This is what we bloggers try to avoid. Losing our audience. We work hard to reach out and stay in touch with our frequent visitors, friends, family and supporters. Every blogger needs a support team. To the people who have patiently waited for me to get this show back on the road, thank you.


What has changed?

Many things have changed. I published my first novel in October 2018 and I have been working diligently to organically market it. Marketing is a must in the Indie Author world. To do it organically, without paying for advertising is how I am approaching it. Marketing on social media is tricky to navigate. I have learned about marketing on social media, and I am applying what I learn every day.


Which brings me to more news.

Here I go again. I am starting over.

I am currently working on building a full time writing career. Things changed in my life. I found myself with an opportunity to dive into this adventure with all of my gusto. My peers in the writing community assure me that I can earn a living by writing. It will be up to me to get it started and keep things moving smoothly. I didn’t plan for this to be the way things turned out. Now I can focus on what is important to me for the first time in a really long time. It is scary and new. It feels like the right move for me.


I am going back to the original blogging schedule for now.

Tomorrow, Trust Your Gut Thursday will be back. I have new material to write, for you to read tomorrow. The angry tomato will return for the weekend warrior series. I will be continuing the #Tishspiration Tuesdays. Things may look different, and changes will keep happening. I plan to keep blogging.


The Tish MacWebber Always Blinging…online store opened today!

The store is new on my website. Dionne came to my rescue again. Writing friends are the best. We help each other out. I ask lots of questions and usually, one person out there has the answer I need. I love the supportive writing communities I am active in.

In November, I won first place in the Kit Sora Flash Fiction Contest, sponsored by Engen Books. The name of my first place winning story is Love in a Bottle.

The story was received well in the different places I shared it.

People want to read more, they want to know what happened next. I didn’t know what to put in a newsletter. I have decided that it would be good to add more to this story in it. Every month, I will send a newsletter out, with a new part of this story, and in the future there will be new stories.


I took a chance this fall and paid admission to a prestigious short story competition.


The NYC Midnight Short Story Competition has 3 heats. I have submitted my first story. If I get to keep going, I am up for the challenge. They assign topics, genres and a character to write into your short story. I want to win and there are prizes. The best thing about it is that we all get feedback on our work. It will be priceless to get feedback on how to improve my writing skills.Timing is everything. I am hoping it is my time to shine. I am ready. Are you with me? Let’s go!

Weekend Warrior #63 Supporting a Local Business

Weekend Warrior #63 Supporting a Local Business

I am writing today live from the Grand Opening Event at The Purrfect Cup Cafe in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It is fairly close to my home, and there has been an impressive turnout. The sun is peeking through the clouds, and the line to go into the room with the cats ( some of them have been adopted today!) is still going the length of the cafe, right outside the door. There have been a few moments when the line wasn’t going right outside, but not for very long.

With a local coffee company, The Whitney Coffee Company supplying the beans for the brew, and Chess Piece Patisserie Cafe providing the best brownie I ever ate along with a variety of cookies, they are open for business.

The Purrfect Cup Cafe

The Purrfect Cup Cafe

I was able to visit last weekend before the grand opening today. My husband and I took a chance to see if we could check the place out. It was open, and I was able to purchase a coffee. More importantly, I got to play with some cats. It is the main draw for me. It is the only cat cafe in Fredericton, and it is a well-designed establishment. The cafe is out front, with the baked goods coming from a popular downtown cafe. The food safety aspect is not a concern, as the baked goods are prepared at a different location.

Behind a large window wall with a glass door is the cat room. There are washrooms in both sections, and the one out front is fully accessible for all visitors. There are carpets, tables, couches and chairs in the cat room. The various shelves all around the wall to allow cats to exercise and perch as they please. There were 2 cats that day, and I did have fun entertaining their playful antics.

The Cafe in action!

The Cafe in action!

Shona Newton & Korey Jennings, the owners, were both here last weekend, and are here today also. I have been talking to them about setting up a separate event in a month or two for a book signing of my debut book, From Where I am Sitting…A Collection of Cat Tales. They seem open to the idea, and I think it was a good plan on my part to not try and combine my event with their grand opening. Today is about them launching their business.

 

You know, as I look outside, there is less than an hour officially scheduled for the remainder of the Grand Opening, and the people are here. I think it is going better than they expected. I am really happy to see the overwhelming support my city has showed for The Purrfect Cup Cafe! Although I did not make it inside today with the cats; I will find another time to visit. It was very busy in the cat room all day!

With all the excitement here today, I am planning to stay close to home tomorrow, to prepare for another work week. Someday, I may be able to write full time, and that will be wonderful. I am working towards this goal with every spare second I have. I will be making time for Bling creations tonight & tomorrow, as the Cat Tales Jewellery Collection will be the first Always Blinging…jewellery for sale in the store on this website! I am making progress, and I have one design which I am pleased with. The next design is a bit more complicated, so I need time to play. I look forward to the reveal when the store is ready to open.

After I wrote this, something came up on Sunday. I found out that it was a day to go check out a local meeting. The Chickadee Cat Club happened to be having their meeting this afternoon. I grabbed the proof copy of my book and went. There was a general meeting and a presentation about raw food diets for cats. It was an interesting afternoon.

When I got home, I made 7 pieces of jewellery in the design I have decided to go with for the necklace. I need to spend time working on the earring design this week. I have made progress, and this is good!  As some of them will be necklaces for the Book Launch Party I held on Facebook a few weeks ago, I am anxious to get those pieces complete, so I can work on the ones I will be selling locally and on the website. With that, it is time to sign off and get ready for the upcoming work week. How was your weekend? Did you do anything creative or interesting? Let me know in the comments! Have a great week!