Sunday Sips-April 4th, 2021

Good Morning and Happy Easter, if you celebrate!

This morning I’m noshing on cinnamon rolls and enjoying some of this yummy Davidson’s Wild Strawberry Tea I got from a Sipsby box I received a while back. I only add a dash of milk along with my preferred sweetener of maple syrup to it. With only organic black tea, natural flavor and organic dried strawberry, it’s a very light tea with great fruity flavor.

Also, I recently treated myself to a Starbucks but was tired of my usual chai tea latte so I asked them to add in a flavor to spice things up. They chose caramel sauce and OMG it was heavenly. It was everything i didn’t know i needed. YUMMY. They also suggested hazelnut syrup so maybe I’ll try that next time.

Last month I took two weeks off from all writing (more on writing in a minute) and i watched so many documentaries it’s not even funny. I LOVE THEM. I also watched several movies which i almost never have time for anymore and I read. I read books. Lots of them!! Well, technically I started reading lots of books. Unfortunately I Dnf’d several but did manage to make it through a couple that I liked okay. Nothing that wowed me sadly. I just started watching Fate: The Winx Saga on Netflix and omg is it making me crave a good fantasy novel to get lost in. Any recs? Now that i’m diving back into edits for the third book in my Creekwood series I probably won’t have a lot of spare time to read but I want to build up a list for when i get a breather again.

It’s no secret I’ve spent a ton of time lately dedicated to writing and while I typically only need my laptop and my phone for music if possible, I have found a few other tools that seem to help. My laptop is nothing fancy whatsoever I promise as my DELL is at least a few years old and I use plain old microsoft word instead of any other software I know a lot of other writers prefer.

First, i hate sitting at a desk. After being a stay at home mom that barely even ventured into our home office, I’ve now taken it over as my own and spend almost every single day in it whether for my daughter’s full remote schooling (her desk is right beside mine), or for my own work. Truth be told I’d rather write from my bed with some pillows propped behind me back and on my lap or on the couch with a similar set up but that’s not always ideal. I run two businesses—my author career and my online bookmark shop—so I’ve got a lot to do at my desk. Unfortunately I found out the hard way that doing so wreaks havoc on my back…and shoulders…and neck. I bought this stand to help with some of that by lifting my laptop and it really has!

I will say that i’m still on the hunt for a better chair though so if you know of one, let me know. Email me any suggestions at ashleymarieauthor@gmail.com, i’m all ears. For Christmas my hubby surprised me with this mug warmer and I love it. I’m a sipper. I sip all day so i was constantly getting up to reheat my tea. Now I don’t have to. Saves me more time to write, lol.

My hubby says I’m an incredibly emotional typer, meaning I type very hard on the keyboard so even though I have my eye on a pretty keyboard like this one (you need another one if your laptop is on the stand), I use an old one we had packed away from several years ago, that way if a key goes flying while I’m writing an emotionally charged scene, it’s not that big of a deal, or expensive.

I’m very vocal about music playing a huge role in my inspiration and while i’ve found that driving alone in my car with music blasting is great for getting my creative juices flowing, my shower is too. Which honestly is more accesbile than driving during the past year so i capitalized on this time by buying a speaker i can use in the shower. I play my book specific playlists or just let my liked songs play on random. The best thing about this shower speaker I bought is it’s only $5 so if something happens to it, it’s easy to replace. But it is so helpful! The ideas just flow so much easier with music playing during my daily showers. My hubby also surprised me with these nice headphones as I had awful ones before that broke weekly and you could hear from across the room instead of only in the ears they were on top of. I’m a big Spotify fan. I tried Pandora and Amazon but I love Spotify and use it exclusively.

I’m also a fan of Pinterest for story boards which i typically look at on my kindle that i upgrade every couple of years. The last couple I’ve bought on target online as they have great sales a few times a year, especially around black friday. Also with the redcard you get 5% off.

For comfort, i like to go to my writing gloves or this lightweight blanket, both from storiarts, to help keep me warm. I also wear my “Write the Words, Raise the Humans” hoodie I bought from writermomsinc on IG.

Even with all these extras, I cannot stress enough that the only thing I actually need to write is my laptop. I’ve written in my parked car, outside public restrooms, at airports, parks, you name it, and the only one thing I need is my laptop. Even if I haven’t had it on hand when an idea occurred, my phone’s notes app has done the trick as well. Everything else is just *nice* to have/use.

Let me know what extras you like to use if you write. I’d love to know what others find helpful.

Lastly, there’s a song I recently discovered that I think everyone should hear. It’s the most raw, emotion-provoking song I’ve heard in a long time and i make it a point to listen to emotional music on a regular basis. It’s called Wolves by Jensen McRae and it’s real, honest, and breathtaking. Listen carefully and know if you cry, you’re not alone.

Stay safe and see you next month!

Ashley

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