NOW is the perfect time

by Norah Deay | Feb 12, 2016 | Uncategorised

I first wrote this post in 2016 when I stopped putting off writing a book and realised that NOW, right NOW, is always the perfect time. Since then, I’ve published 4 more books (1 fiction) and over 100 low-content notebooks, journals and planners. I’ve also left New Zealand and moved back to Ireland and now writing is what I do. It was thanks to SPS that I felt comfortable calling myself a writer and for that alone, I’ll forever be grateful. 

Folks I’m so excited I can’t keep still. For years I’ve dreamed about seeing my name on a book – not on the inside because I own it, but out there on the front cover.
In December I finally did it. I self-published a non-fiction book and on Monday the book reached Num 1 in two categories. On Tuesday I put it out free for three days. There are nearly 71,000 books in the Free category on Kindle and my little offering got to number 607. It’s still doing well in the Secretarial & Office Skills and Business Skills categories. 

I’m already planning my next one and I’m feeling so lucky and blessed to be doing what I’ve always wanted to do. Someone asked me earlier today what had changed to make this happen and I answered that it was really a perfect storm. 

Without giving it an awful lot of thought last year, we upped and left Auckland. It was another thing we’d talked about doing for years but it was only when we saw this house that we had the impetus to actually put our house in Auckland on the market and move to the country. Once here I created the office/library I always wanted and set myself up to write.

I then paid a reasonable amount of money to join SPS – the Self Publishing School – which was founded by a young guy who is so motivating and enthusiastic that you can’t help but be carried along on the crest of the waves he makes. The best bit? I actually wrote. This is the hardest part for the majority of writers – getting your bum on your seat and words on paper/screen.

The more I did, the more I did. We all know that activity creates its own momentum but how many of us ignore that and wait for the perfect time to do things? I did for years. I used to say I’d write “when I settled down”. Hah! As if that’s ever going to happen! I’d never have written a word if I’d waited for that. NOW is always the perfect time.

I’ve also prioritised what’s important to me. It’ll be no surprise to my sister Lucy that I’ve decided that housework is not one of those things. I lost my way for a few years and was never happy if the house was untidy. Now, I’d rather be happy and busy doing what I love. Of course, if anyone says they’re visiting, a great spurt of housework will be undertaken.

Don’t wait for your life to come to you. Get out there and grab it and shake every bit of enjoyment you can out of it. It’s the only one you’ve got!

It’s a dog’s life – and that’s a good thing

by Norah Deay | Jan 30, 2016 | Uncategorised

Head over heels. Besotted. Smitten. All words to describe how I feel about our two rescue puppies, Ruby and Barney. They are literally my reason to get up in the morning, as we go for a 6am walk every day. For years I would say “I’d love to have a dog” but location dictated otherwise. However, when we moved here to Matamata and had a decent, fenced garden at last, having a dog was almost the first thing we did.

Ruby came first. She was abondoned outside a pound at 3 months and I’ll never understand why. She is the sweetest natured, most gorgeous girl ever. I sometimes call her “Lolloping Lil” because she has a goofy way about her. Barney, on the other hand, is the problem child. He’s supposedly half-chihuahua and I’m assuming that’s the half that likes to bark. He’s full of dognition and is far too clever for his own (and our) good. But he loves to cuddle and shadows me wherever I go. I say sometimes that he’s like one of those dogs who sit on their owners’ grave.

The Man didn’t have much experience with dogs when he was growing up but my Dad often arrived home with waifs and strays so we always had at least one. I remember a “you or the dogs” conversation once when he arrived with a sheepdog and her SIX puppies.

Our lives have been turned upside down, inside out and sideways! And I love every minute. I’m down three pairs of shoes, but two I didn’t like anyway. It’s lucky we live in New Zealand and bare feet are the norm because the Man has had to go barefoot to buy new jandals. Nothing you care anything about can be left within reach but that’s also got a silver lining – it’s a good way to keep the house tidy!

I’ve had the thought that if both of us had been clueless about dogs (as many new owners are) it would be an absolute nightmare to have two big puppies at the same time. Sure, you can lock them outside and leave them behind if you go out for the day but would you do that with your toddlers? That’s what it’s like. They are babies and as demanding as babies can be.

I work from home which is really good because they’re never on their own. I shudder to think of the damage if they had free reign of the house.  If you’re reading this and think that it wouldn’t happen with the puppies you’d own, all I say is, just wait!

The added bonus in having these awesome little creatures come into our lives is that we seem to have so much room for more. We’re talking about finding a place with more land so we can rescue more animals. Our two cats are rescues, we now have two laying hens (chooks in NZ), four goldfish and hopefully some frogs in the pond, and an aquarium that used to have 28 fish but there’s a catfish that’s looking very well fed and the smaller ones seem to have disappeared!

If you’re a dog person I have a short story on Amazon about a woman who unexpectedly has a dog come into her life – if you want to download, it’s only 99c and you can get it by clicking on the photo here.

Are you a Gonna?

by Norah Deay | Jan 22, 2016 | Uncategorised

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