Adara VS Wheelchair Upgrade: Distractions & Opportunities ~ Nov 24
Being out led to local opportunities.
Visual Description:
Shows a desk, with a laptop and monitor on stands. There is an anime avatar representing Adara. Adara has short purple hair and light blue bangs. She has white feathers covering the ears, a black collar with a heart emblem, and a dark green/blue checkered shirt with white t-shirt. Periodically shows black cats on the desk and on Adara's desk. Also shows fish swimming in an The ending screen shows a banner advertising Drawing Red, with a link to www.adaraspence.com/books. The paperback and ebook cover of Drawing Red shows a teenage girl drawing in a notebook with a large protective red and white wolf standing protectively behind her. It's set in a moonlit forest. The hardback cover is black with a grey outline of a tree on it.
Transcript
This time last year I purchased 10 ISBN numbers. They were a promise to myself that one day I would become an author. Then on March 1st this year Drawing Red was released, and my on week pre-sale blew me away. I'm glad people got to share the story I've been writing for 5 years.
My book is in the six legal depository libraries of the UK and has spread so far that I know of to the Taipei public library in Taiwan, as well as all the way to Kansas in America. But this month was special because I was able to get my book into my own local library. That just feels different. It's like coming full circle.
Plus, there might be an opportunity for me to speak to a local YA readers group. Fingers crossed!
I can say though that none of that would have been possible without upgrading my manual folding wheelchair to having a power add-on. People on social media have heard me complain before about the limited wheelchair accessible taxi availability in my area, but now I can go out to places knowing my wheelchair can fit into the back of a regular car with a bit of dismantling. I say a bit of dismantling... it is a full body workout and really requires two people. I cannot do it on my own!
With this newfound freedom I've managed to leave my house about twice a week since, catching up on a lot of things I've been missing. I went to an aquarium, a park, a Christmas Market, my local library, on top of hospital and doctors appointments. The downside of having this freedom is my energy levels aren't used to it and I need days to recover each time. I previously only used to go outside maybe once or twice a month for medical reasons. Plus if you factor in at the start of November I was unwell, my writing fell by the wayside this month.
While all this is going on I'm only three chapters away from finishing the first draft of my second novel, which is a sequel to Drawing Red. My writing area is like a beacon every time I pass it, trying to call me back in, but the writing schedule I had, along with streaming, is going to have to change as I juggle the run up to Christmas with my energy levels with appointments. Hopefully I can reserve some writing time for myself! Maybe for not full 90 minute sessions I have been doing in streaming though. Something like 20 minutes to start with. But quite honestly I'm not complaining. I had a lot of the outside world to try to catch up with! I have crashed now in terms of energy. I am trying to ease up my schedule a little bit this week. I have a lot of medical appointments coming up. But eugh...
I was also invited to apply for the Authortube Conference next year, which quite honestly I didn't see coming as one of the smallest of small authortubers! I was thrilled and pretty astonished to be asked. I'd like to come up with some potential talking points so if anyone watching has a question they'd like to ask me or any ideas to put forward then drop me a comment or feel free to contact me. After I apply it'll likely be luck of the drawer if I get one of their very limited placements for the small authortuber section, but I'd be willing to make a separate video on the subject anyway.
Any streaming I do throughout to December will be sporadic as, like I've said, I attempt to balance it with my energy if you can't join me on Twitch. Any vods will be available afterwards on YouTube and time travelers are of course welcome.
I didn't write much this month so I'll be skipping my star giving rewards tariff. That will come next time as I also reflect on the year as a whole.
Wishing spoons to all who need them in December and a good dose of creativity to everyone. Burnout is all too easy during the holidays and you reserve the right to say no to things for your health, both physical and mental. Remember, your pace is valid. I'm using this as a note to myself too. This is a reminder to me!
In December's Roundup I'll be opening a letter I wrote to myself last New Year's Eve and reflecting on my year.
If you like the idea of a YA paranormal romance and sci-fi Fusion novel with a dash of disability rep, then my book Drawing Red is available everywhere. You can also find me on most social media including Threads and Blue Sky. Subscribe if you don't want to miss out, as I continue to write my story... one day at a time.
[Music]
Credits:
Credit: Picrew avatar by Faelions on X/Twitter
Thumbnail and ending image created free using canva.com
Music Credit 1: ending theme – Adara Spence
Music Credit 2: Beloved - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/3ji1zZc
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/omTgn4GQcKA
