Anna-Marie O'Brien

I love to talk about writing! Check out my new interview over at Metal-Rules.com:

https://bit.ly/2ziIH8D

Happy Friday, friends. I hope you’re hanging in there during this very strange time! Like most of you, we are at home and safe. I’m grateful for many things – my family is healthy and we are comfortable, tucked away in our Urban Cottage in the suburbs of Phoenix.

We’ve made it through week three of social distancing, and are hunkered down for the long haul. My hub and I are both working from home, and the kids are doing school – and a lot of movies, LEGO’s, games, art, and books. Of course, the weather is fabulous right now, with birds chirping and warm sunshine. The windows are open and we’re enjoying the wildflower breezes and quiet city skies. We are trying to get outside as much as possible – things are blooming and the sun is good for the soul. I’ve been sleeping so good lately, too – probably catching up from almost thirteen years of parenthood.

A super nice thing to wake up to this morning was a wonderful new book review posted over at Metal Rules. I love it when my book entertains someone.

https://www.metal-rules.com/2020/04/01/obrien-anna-marie-adventures-of-a-metalhead-librarian-book-review/

And just a reminder, my book Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian, is available through Kindle Unlimited right now!

Get it here: https://amzn.to/2JOxfE1

I know it’s a strange time, but please do feel free to reach out and connect if you’d like to chat, ask questions about the book or about writing in general, or if you just need someone to talk to. You can connect with me on the socials, or by email at: annamarieobrien@gmail.com

Stay safe and healthy, friends!

AMO

Hey Everyone,

I know it’s a weird time out there and we all need to stay safe and hunker down for a while.

Many of you will be reading more books over the coming weeks, and that’s great. In the spirit of the times, I’m making my book, Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian, available for free through the Kindle Unlimited program.

Reading eBooks right now is the way to go. As lovely as physical books are, eBooks are a wonderful way to make sure our supply lines and delivery people stay functioning for the more important stuff, like food, medical supplies, and toilet paper.

So enjoy the book and stay safe and healthy, everyone!

Here’s a link for you: https://amzn.to/2Uk3KyA

Anna-Marie

Had fun chatting with Jas over at Indie Author about my writing process, my book, and why I self-published. Here’s the link:

https://indie.substack.com/p/an-interview-with-anna-marie-obrien

A great book review of Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian posted over at Pure Grain Audio. It’s so exciting to me to read about how people connect with the book!

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/2L6wXZQ

Thanks for your support, everyone. Have a great weekend!

AMO

• The story of writing the book is a story of its own. Document your process in some way so that you can refer back to it, like dots on a map. Because sometime after the book is done and out in the world, you’re going to kind of forget how hard it was. But you’ll have a diary, an Instagram, a Facebook Memory to remind you. And it will fortify your soul knowing that, despite all the fear and unknowing and mental exertion and dealing with your “real” life, job, family – somehow you managed to write and publish a book, and that you ARE capable of doing it again.

• You’ve got gather your grace, and let go of expectations regarding other people. Social media makes this harder to navigate, I think. Old friends will appear. Some friends will stay friends. Some friends will step up. Some friends will disappear on you and offer no support or encouragement. Friends of friends may reach out and want to be friends and offer big support. Some strangers will step forward and become friends. Some strangers will become your biggest cheerleaders. Some people you thought were friends and have offered initial support are actually not your friends at all. Accept it all and be grateful and gracious. You wrote a book. You are a badass regardless of other people. Not everyone gives a shit, and that’s OK. Stay in your lane and write another book.

• Prepare for rejection. Prepare for miracles. This gets easier as you get older, I think. Your thin- skinned ego gets roughed up a bit by life and age and eventually, you don’t give a shit what other people think about you and your writing. Yes, you want your book to find its readers. Yes, you want to find and connect with your audience.  Yes, you want people to like you and your work. But it doesn’t affect you in any real sense if they don’t. Who cares, really? Likewise, keep your heart and mind open. Sometimes you get signs or meet people who help you along the way.

• You’ve got to turn off the monkey-brain and tune in to your intuition. You can read all the how-to’s of being a “real” writer. You can wreck yourself with anxiety over the stupid advice that you must write a certain way, a certain amount, a certain time of day. That somehow you’re not a real writer if you’re not writing 500-words-day-everyday. Honestly? It’s bullshit. Sometimes it’s actually paralyzing to those of us who don’t work in such a linear fashion. Find time in your week, or in your season of life, to write. Structure it if you must. Write when you can. Keep a notebook handy. Let the story find you, let it possess you, and then as Cheryl Strayed says “write like a motherfucker”. Because when it comes down to it, when you boil it down to the simplest of things: if you want to write the book, you’ll find a way to write the book.

• Trust. Faith.  Even being a somewhat “anxious” person, I have learned to trust myself, to trust the process, to trust the timing of things, to trust my judgement, to stop looking for validation. That inner voice knows the truth. Be realistic about your writing speed and capacity, going slower when needed, and faster when able. Be gentle with yourself, while keeping faith and doing the work. You only fail if you quit. So, just don’t quit.  

• The work itself may not always be writing. It may be a lot of other things. It may be resting. When you’re writing a book, really writing a book, it’s inside you. It’s in your body, in your head, in your dreams, in your playlist, on your timeline, in your belly, cooking with fire – all pointing the way forward, manifesting. You must breathe it to life.  But it can also be real work, emotional and exhausting. You may need to pause and rest, especially after finishing a first draft, or a 9^th draft, or after a big edit. Sometimes you need a week or two to rest your damn brain. It’s OK to do this. Rest yourself, child. Get back to it as soon as you are able. Because you can do this.

• A new decade will be upon us soon. Let’s finish up our business, enjoy the holidays, and get down to it.