It’s a yearly tradition for me to lay out my goals for the year ahead just before New Years Eve, and then almost a year later, refer to each goal and see how well I did!
So, here are the 8 goals I set myself for 2023 and the results.
Start releasing ‘The Day The Earth Turned’ series – Achieved! As planned I released book 1: Summer in June, and book 2: Autumn in October. Book 3: Winter is all set up and ready to be released in January, hopefully followed by book 4: Spring in March or April.
Finish ‘At Night They Played In The Road’ (working title, I still can’t quite decide) and send to editor – Achieved! In fact, I recently received the edits from my wonderful editor and will start working on them very soon. I hope to release it around June 2024.
Publish ‘Days End’, the third book in the Fortune’s Well trilogy – Achieved! The whole trilogy is now published and available in ebook, paperback and hardback!
Keep adding to my new short story and poetry collection – Achieved! I haven’t added a lot and this collection is nowhere near ready for publication but I have managed to add a few new poems to it this year.
Launch Chasing Driftwood Books – Achieved! (Sort of) While we are not ready for any kind of official launch, Chasing Driftwood Books is a thing in motion. There are now eight authors in our indie collective and we are currently taking part in a Christmas calendar countdown together. The website is in progress and our mission is clear. Hopefully this time next year we will have fully launched!
Keep improving my vegetable plot and self-sufficiency in general – Failed! Well, mostly. Unfortunately, my vegetable plot ended up being very neglected this year, despite my good intentions. I have realised and accepted that I just don’t have time for it. I made the decision to take down the fence and start clearing it all away at the end of the season. I felt too sad looking at it. I’m not giving up entirely and I still plan to grow things out there. I am just going to be a bit more realistic about what I have time for.
Keep Up with dog training –Achieved! I had no choice, really. A year ago Ada was a sweet little puppy who was only just starting to go for walks after her jabs. It soon became very obvious that she had a deeply ingrained fear and mistrust of the outside world and just about everything in it! Her reactivity as a puppy was absolutely terrible and I was truly stunned, wondering what on earth I had done wrong. We have done constant training since then, at home, on all our walks and with our wonderful dog trainer. She has been enjoying Hoopers, Trick Training and more recently Future Stars which is teaching her the basics for agility later on. She adores training. She is desperate to learn and please you; she just finds a lot of things very worrying. She is a lot less reactive now, thankfully. She generally won’t react anymore to previous triggers, such as cars, bikes, motorbikes, scooters, children, buggies, men in hi-vis jackets, men in helmets… It was a lot! Now it is mostly just other dogs and not all of them. Just the ones that worry her!
Get fitter and stronger – Failed! I haven’t gotten worse, I just wasn’t able to keep up the pilates. I’m happy with my body and my fitness but its hiking I really want to get into next year!
I think six out of eight is not too bad and the two I didn’t achieve were not total fails. All in all it has been a good year in terms of writing and family life. Look out for next week’s post where I will set out my goals for 2024!
Excited:a feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness.
If you ask another adult when was the last time they felt excited, I wonder what they would say? I wonder how far back they would have to think? If you ask a child, on the other hand, they will more than likely say today, or yesterday. One of my favourite things about children, and working with them, is how excited they always are. It’s like some kind of natural state for them, and the younger they are, the easier they are excited.
Us adults seems to lose this as time wears on and life wears us down. There is little room for excitement in getting up on a dark Monday morning and trudging to work. We get a bit excited about the weekend, but it always goes too fast. We get excited about holidays and time off. Maybe our birthdays and Christmas too, but that’s usually more to do with other people than ourselves.
It is so easy to forget how this feels. That fizzy breathless giddy feeling inside of you. Smiling spontaneously, smiling alone, breaking into laughter or giggles. Jumping up and down, clapping hands.
I’m also lucky because I am a writer and writing excites me. If I have a story on the go I am excited every day that I work on it but lately I’ve had other things to feel excited about and it made me realise how long it’s been since I’ve felt that heightened and blissful emotion.
Not to say, at all, that life is not generally very good to me. But days tend to roll into each other, I feel tired, a bit weary, a bit bored. It’s hard to get excited on a daily basis living in this strained old world, but lately for me, that has changed.
We recently inherited some money and it was not quite enough to do anything really wild like buy a house (we’ve rented our entire lives) but it was indeed, a potentially life-changing amount. It left us with serious dilemmas and a lot of thinking to do. We have never had money before, not in any substantial amount, and with this strange new reality came a lot of fear, guilt and sadness. Someone we loved very much had passed away so it didn’t feel right to delight in this money or celebrate it, but at the same time, we knew we had to honour them if we could and not waste the opportunity we had been given.
Over several months we thrashed it out, going back and forth, looking into every option available and weighing up the pros and cons. Our biggest fear was doing nothing. We feared that if we sat still and didn’t do something with it, it would get eaten up by rent and bills before we knew it.
We looked into several options including these;
Saving it, putting it away in an ISA or a pension pot
Using it as a large deposit and trying to get a mortgage to finally buy
Buying an eco-friendly tiny home and trying to find a small plot to rent and live on
Starting a new business
Buying a campervan and having adventures
Buying a park or mobile home
One by one we went through the options. One of my favourites was the tiny home idea. I’d been following tiny home pages on Facebook and Instagram for some time and I think they are a fantastic solution to the housing crisis in this country. They are built with sustainable and off grid living in mind, can be towed like a touring caravan and are affordable, unlike mortgages and rents these days. I even had a video consultation with a company who make them and it seemed like a really good solution, however, the biggest obstacle seemed to be finding a plot of land. We did ask around but kept getting told no. If we bought the tiny home we would not have had any money left to buy our own plot and even then, you still need planning permission to be able to live on it full time. It’s a shame, because the tiny home movement is growing and I fully support it. Imagine the difference we could make to low-income families and homeless people if land-owners were more open to this idea!
For a while we settled on the campervan idea. We have always dreamed of owning one. I’ve always liked the idea of living in one when there are less kids and pets to care for and I also follow lots of van-life accounts on Instagram and Facebook. Again, I think the whole van-life movement has grown out of the housing crisis. People are fed up of being ripped off with ever-spiraling rents and mortgages and living in a van instantly means your wages will go a lot further. Imagine living in a home with basically no rent or mortgage to pay and minimal bills? Imagine how much wealthier you would instantly feel! We liked this idea and thought to start with we would just have holidays and adventures in it and then maybe, when it’s just us, my husband and I would live in it.
I was also quite into the getting a mortgage idea for a while. It’s always been my dream to own my own home and I have always had an image in my mind of what that would be. Essentially, it wouldn’t be too different to the place we rent now. A large garden, not too many neighbours, fields and woods and rivers close by. Unfortunately, even with such a large deposit, and our wages being higher than they’ve ever been, we still would not be able to afford the kind of home we would like in Dorset, where we live. We could possibly have got a mortgage for a flat, or a terraced house in a less desirable area, but even then, at a stretch. It was really depressing looking. So, we looked further afield and instantly saw we could get a lot more for our money if we crossed over into Devon, or went as far as Somerset, Cornwall or Wales. These are all places we know and love having been on many caravan holidays over the years.
The mobile home or park home option seemed enticing too but sadly, every single caravan park in our area (and there are tons…) is either for holidays only or for old people only, no children allowed. It was so frustrating as we could have afforded some of these homes in beautiful locations.
The idea of leaving Dorset seemed more and more enticing. Yes, after nearly fourteen years of living in the same house, and having lived in the county our entire lives, it would mean a big change, changing our lives entirely. That felt scary, but also exciting…
At one time I never would have considered it.
But now we felt like it was time to start living and actually enjoying the wages we earn, instead of watching them all get eaten up by rent and bills.
Then, one day, I was scrolling Facebook and came across a caravan park in Devon that had recently been taken over by new owners and was now a 12 month park. You do need to list somewhere else as your permanent residence but essentially, you are free to live on site 12 months a year and make it your home. Pets are allowed. Children are allowed. There are no age restrictions. It’s in a beautiful setting with sea and meadow views, just a short drive from the outstanding natural beauty areas of Ilfracombe, Woolacombe and Barnstaple.
We made contact and decided to go and have a look. We enjoyed our visit so much. The park was wonderful, the choices of static caravans and wooden style lodges were gorgeous. The location was perfect and while there, I felt so at ease, so invigorated. We explored the nearest town, Ilfracombe, a seaside town that feels like it is stuck in time, in a good way! The people were friendly, the views spectacular, the possibilities for exploring and hiking endless. We all felt at home. We came away and discussed it and we were all agreed. We wanted to live there. We wanted to buy a static caravan and live in it. We wanted to change our lives completely.
Mullacot Park, Ilfracombe, Devon
And that’s the reason I am so excited right now. We recently purchased the caravan and our plan is to have lots of holidays and weekends away for the next two years while our sons finish in their current schools, plus rent it out to holiday makers in hope of making a little income from it. Then, we will up sticks and leave and it will be our home. If we ever tire of the park, we can move the caravan anywhere we like. It was by far the cheapest option, leaving us with a respectable amount in the bank if we ever need it, or possibly to try and purchase a bit of land one day. But for now, we all feel exited to be on the park.
Our caravan on the new plot on the park – road and parking space to come!
I have fallen in love with the area its in and on a recent weekend there we explored more of Ilfracombe and visited the magnificent Woolacombe beach. There are lots more places on my list to explore and I am ready for adventure, ready to embrace this feeling of being excited again.
View of Ilfracombe from Hilsborough Hill
It might not be everyone’s idea of a dream come true, but for us, going from £15,000 a year in rent plus bills, to £3,000 in ground rent and minimal bills, is a no-brainer. Our lives will be instantly easier and more relaxed. We will have more time – surely the most precious thing of all and the thing we all want more of?
Ilfracombe harbour
I have plans to get into hiking, to be outside as much as possible. I won’t have a garden anymore but these days it just stresses me out anyway. I have always loved this house and garden but its so expensive now, it takes all our time and energy paying for it and we have none left to actually enjoy it. That has to change. We have one short life. One shot.
I want time. I want space. I want to breathe, wander, dream and ponder. I want to slow down.
This is our plan to change our lives and this is just the start.
Hi and welcome to another character interview here on The Glorious Outsiders. K.M Allan is a writer I’ve been following for some time on social media. I’ve read all the books in her YA paranormal series, Blackbirch and I’m just about to dive into an ARC of the fourth and final installment! So, please welcome the series protagonist Josh to out character interview for November!
How old are you?
I am seventeen years old.
Where do you come from?
I lived in the city with my parents until they were killed in a car accident 6 months ago.
Where do you live? Describe it to us
I currently live in a small town off a highway. It’s called Blackbirch, and it’s filled with black birch trees, which is the only tree that grows around here. Most say it’s because of dark magick, and only my friends and I know that is the truth.
Do you have a family, if so tell us about them.
After my parents died, I moved in with my guardian, Grace. She was my mom’s best friend, and I live with her and her daughter, Sarah.
Who is your best friend and why?
Sarah is. She knows all my secrets and helps me when I’m not sure what to do.
Who is your worst enemy and why?
Eve Thomas. She wants to know all my secrets and use them in the worst way possible.
What are your talents?
I can use magick to heal people, and strength to protect them.
What are your flaws?
Not asking for help.
What do you think people think of you?
I hope they think of me as someone who is just trying to look after them.
What do you wish people knew about you?
That I’m just trying to fix all of my mistakes.
What’s your biggest fear?
Losing more of the people that I love.
What’s your biggest hope?
That I can one day live a normal life again and not be chased for the magick in my veins.
What’s your biggest secret?
That I don’t feel worthy of the responsibility that I have.
What is the worst thing you have done to another person?
My actions and mistakes have resulted in deaths. Of both good and bad people.
What kind of friend are you?
I like to think I’m a good one, but I’ve also put my friends in danger, and I don’t enjoy being that type of friend.
Is there anything about your life you would change?
The death of my parents.
Where would you like to be in 5 years time?
Hopefully living a normal life, not running from danger or from others trying to steal my magick.
Do you have any regrets?
I wish I had known more about my power when I first became aware of it. Then I could have used it in a way that didn’t hurt others.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who did the best he could.
What are your hobbies/how do you relax?
Reading, and watching movies with my friends, Sarah, and Max.
If you would like to find out more about this intriguing series, here is the Amazon link to the author’s page:
I’m talking about the unique and blissful joy of being utterly immersed and lost within a world you created. I often blog about how magical writing is – partly because I feel it so strongly and partly to counteract the often negative view towards writing I come across online. You know the memes; writing is torture; writing is terrible; writing is so, so hard…
Nah, I don’t see it that way.
I could go on all day about how wonderful, brilliant, life-affirming and beautiful writing is but today I just want to focus on one aspect; getting lost in a world you created.
At the moment, I have the next three books in The Day The Earth Turned series ready and waiting for their release dates. This will be October 2023, January 2024 and April 2024, roughly. By June, 2024, I hope to have At Night We Played In The Road published, which is a spin-off from The Boy With The Thorn In His Side series. After that, I plan to release The Mess of Us (long-awaited sequel to my debut, The Mess Of Me) around September 2024 time and finally, the last book in that connected universe, The Dark Finds You will come out around either at the end of 2024 or the start of 2025. These books are all finished! Some are awaiting beta reader feedback and one is about to come back from the editor. They all have front covers ready. There’s not a lot more I can do to any of them other than responding to feedback and edits when I get them and preparing them for release…
As you know, my self-imposed writing ban ended a few weeks ago when I gave in and started typing Black Hare Valley up on my laptop. This is, of course, the book I’d vaguely planned with a map, character bios and plot ideas and then ended up writing entirely in long-hand in five notebooks during a prolonged power cut in February 2022.
After that frenzied writing session, I put it away to concentrate on everything else.
And now here I am, happily typing up my own work, work I barely remember writing, transferring longhand from notebooks into a Word document on my laptop.
Every night I sit at the laptop for at least an hour and type up what I can. Every night, the story reveals itself to me like a dream I can barely remember. It feels so fresh and new, like I only wrote it yesterday, but at the same time, I have little memory of being the person behind the pen.
I am loving this.
Black Hare Valley is a strange little town with a lot of strange goings-on. I got the initial idea after reading Stephen King’s epic ‘It’ for the third time. I love that book. I would read it again tomorrow. I feel like Black Hare Valley is my personal homage to the great, master of horror, Stephen King. Funnily enough, after coming up with the idea, I watched Stranger Things on Netflix and realised there are a few comparisons. Only in the sense that it’s another strange little town where strange things happen and it’s mostly up to the kids to solve it!
When I came up with the idea, it wasn’t much of an idea; it was really just the town, which I had great fun creating with my son on a large piece of roll out paper. I still love that map. We put such detail into it, the whole place just came alive. I was also inspired by recent visits to iron age hill forts and places like Hell Lane, in Dorset. I was inspired by dark, magical, local folklore, and slowly the story began to write itself.
At the start I just had a missing child, and a group of kids thrown together trying to solve the mystery. They soon realise there is far more to their close-knit and seemingly ‘perfect’ town than they ever realised…
It was such fun to write and it’s even better now, sat here night after night, writing it up. I look forward to it all day. In my head, I am going to Black Hare Valley. I am there every evening, lost inside a world I created, wandering the streets after dark, wondering who is keeping secrets and whose those glinting eyes in the shadows belong to… I am there with my heroes, my band of misfit teenagers who are slowly unravelling the darkness that forms the foundations of their town, in order to find out what happened to missing Paddy Finnis…
I am there, in the warm and cosy Hound and Hare pub, and I am there at the old ruins, hiding from shadows. I am there in Black Woods, searching for strange footprints, and I am there at the school, where the headmaster has something quite evil behind that thin smile of his… I am there in The Magic Of Books bookshop, sneaking between old dusty books for answers, I am there at Hill Fort Farm, the highest point of the valley where Mayor Sumner keeps a watchful eye over the town her ancestors founded…
I am there! Every night I go missing. I’m not here, I’m not anywhere you can find me. I am in Black Hare Valley and I don’t want to come back…
This is without a doubt one of the best and most magical things about being a writer.
The Glorious Outsiders 