To Not Letting Anxiety Win

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Anxiety is a horrible thing. It's like a monster, a parasite, that lives in your body and mind. It darkens happiness and excitement, shading them under a thick dome. It makes you feel so in fear, that anything means something bad is coming, or happening.

It's very difficult to deal with and it can't be beaten, not defeated completely. 

It's a constant cyclone, coming round and round, throwing you down at every opportunity. 

You can't fight it, that strengthens it. The only way to win is to exist alongside it but not to let it have all of your time. 

What Are The Big Challenges For Your New Business Venture & How Can You Beat Them?

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Starting a new business is immensely exciting, especially if it’s something you’ve always wanted to do. However, before launching the startup, it’s vital that you understand the obstacles you’ll face. More importantly, you must plot the ways you plan to overcome them.

You will encounter a lot of challenges but they needn’t stop you from achieving your goals. Pay attention to the following aspects and you won’t go far wrong.

Free Books on Kindle Unlimited #7

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Hi everyone! Welcome back or welcome to the series on my blog where I share books by self-published/small press authors that are free on Kindle Unlimited! Kindle Unlimited is a service where you can get a free trial and then you pay each month and receive unlimited access to millions of ebooks! I'd highly recommend if you love reading ebooks. See the other parts of this series for more free books on Kindle Unlimited! 

So let's take a look at some more indie books that you can read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

These Violent Nights

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

A Touch of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy Book 1)

A thousand years in the future, the last of humanity live inside the walls of the totalitarian Kingdom of Cutta. The rich live in Anais, the capital city of Cutta, sheltered from the famine and disease which ravage the rest of the Kingdom. Yet riches and power only go so far, and even Anaitians can be executed. It is only by the will of the King that Nate Anteros, son of the King’s favourite, is spared from the gallows after openly dissenting. But when he’s released from prison, Nate disappears.

A stark contrast, Catherine Taenia has spent her entire life comfortable and content. The daughter of the King’s Hangman and in love with Thom, Nate’s younger brother, her life has always been easy, ordered and comfortable. That is, where it doesn’t concern Nate. His actions sullied not only his future, but theirs. And unlike Thom, Catherine has never forgiven him.

Two years pass without a word, and then one night Nate returns. But things with Nate are never simple, and when one wrong move turns their lives upside down, the only thing left to do is run where the King’s guards cannot find them – the Outlands. Those wild, untamed lands which stretch around the great walls of the Kingdom, filled with mutants and rabids.

A Game of Wings and Marks

When Octavia Coal goes to the mountains to clear her head, she doesn’t expect to find an angel in trouble.

He tells her his name is Tamiel and he’s one of the Irin – the army of angels tasked with keeping demons from overwhelming humanity. But Tamiel broke a sacred law – he fell in love with a human – and now he’s being hunted by the same angels he once served.

With nowhere else to go, Octavia and Tamiel – along with Jack, the human in question, and her brother Caleb – appeal directly to Zev, the Demon of Games. A trickster of unparalleled power, Zev gives nothing for free, and the gift he offers Octavia to keep Tamiel alive comes with a confusing catch: He makes her the Healer of Raphael, archangel and Commander of the Irin.

Suddenly a target for both angels and demons, Octavia quickly learns that the only way to survive is to play the game better than they do.

The only problem is, she doesn’t know whose game she’s playing …

Free Books on Kindle Unlimited #6

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Hi everyone! Welcome back or welcome to the series on my blog where I share books by self-published/small press authors that are free on Kindle Unlimited! Kindle Unlimited is a service where you can get a free trial and then you pay each month and receive unlimited access to millions of ebooks! I'd highly recommend if you love reading ebooks. See the other parts of this series for more free books on Kindle Unlimited! 

So let's take a look at some more indie books that you can read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Beth Mac: Part One (GRIM Book 1)

Whether it's the battlefield or the football field, Beth Mac is relentless.

Adored as much as she's feared, Corporal Elizabeth Mackenzie is nothing short of a full-blown enigma. Once awarded the Medal of Honour for her bold and arguably reckless efforts as a soldier, she eventually finds herself inching toward a different type of pedestal — one at Saint Judah's College.

With her eyes on the prize, she's on a mission to take the captaincy, whatever the cost. And one by one her competition violently fall.

Luckily, for Beth Mac, a doting boyfriend and a band of followers are far too easily manipulated for her to have to get her hands dirty. The school has its bets on the Grim Reaper being responsible. After all, that's who carried out the murderous rampage at the school just the year before.

Full of all your classic sorority debauchery, Part One will take you on a journey of mysterious happenings with a down-under twist and a whole lot of slaughter. Bloody, witty and outrageously mad, it's Macbeth like you've never seen it before.

Who knew football could be this deadly?

Love Lake

Poems written while living at Greenwood Lake, New York, while waiting emigration to Canada. Poems of love, passion and place.

Masked Intent : A Modern-Day Morality Play (The Morality Plays series Book 1)

Very well-written, recommended for anyone who can't get enough details and likes a lengthy read...The plot is quite entertaining with twists at almost every angle that keep the reader on the edge. --Fatima Aladdin, ReedsyDiscovery

Kimberly Greer wrote a story that portrayed the relationship humans often have with the truth when interacting with other people. There was nothing to dislike about this book. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to people who love an unpolished love story. --Unique Ego, onlinebookclub.org

From being denied by her birth parents to marrying the wrong man, Alexa Winston has learned to cope with disappointment and heartache by masking her true self from the world. Divorced and finally living on her own terms, she shrouds herself in half-truths and bravado, content to live her quiet, predictable life – until she finds the job and the man of her dreams. As she falls deeper into both, and into a world ruled by powerful players jockeying for influence and dominance at all costs, she’s forced to weigh her truths against reality. Trouble is, though she’s a master at detecting self-deception in others, she’s slow to recognize it in herself.

Masked Intent takes a taut, complex look at how we hide behind inauthenticity to guide us through our interpersonal relationships. It’s a timely and relevant story that asks a key question: what does it matter how many followers, likes, and upvotes we have if we no longer recognize the person we see in the mirror?

Masked Intent is the first installment in The Morality Plays Series and ends in a cliffhanger. The story concludes in Intents + Purposes, which publishes in early 2022.

Books with Romance In!

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If you like romance, check out these books! Some of these are romance and some are books with romance as part of the plot.

Masked Intent : A Modern-Day Morality Play (The Morality Plays series Book 1)

Very well-written, recommended for anyone who can't get enough details and likes a lengthy read...The plot is quite entertaining with twists at almost every angle that keep the reader on the edge. --Fatima Aladdin, ReedsyDiscovery

Kimberly Greer wrote a story that portrayed the relationship humans often have with the truth when interacting with other people. There was nothing to dislike about this book. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to people who love an unpolished love story. --Unique Ego, onlinebookclub.org

From being denied by her birth parents to marrying the wrong man, Alexa Winston has learned to cope with disappointment and heartache by masking her true self from the world. Divorced and finally living on her own terms, she shrouds herself in half-truths and bravado, content to live her quiet, predictable life – until she finds the job and the man of her dreams. As she falls deeper into both, and into a world ruled by powerful players jockeying for influence and dominance at all costs, she’s forced to weigh her truths against reality. Trouble is, though she’s a master at detecting self-deception in others, she’s slow to recognize it in herself.

Masked Intent takes a taut, complex look at how we hide behind inauthenticity to guide us through our interpersonal relationships. It’s a timely and relevant story that asks a key question: what does it matter how many followers, likes, and upvotes we have if we no longer recognize the person we see in the mirror?

Masked Intent is the first installment in The Morality Plays Series and ends in a cliffhanger. The story concludes in Intents + Purposes, which publishes in early 2022.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

First Lines #1

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Hi everyone and welcome to a new series on my blog where we look at the first sentence of different books! I love doing this. A first sentence can really capture your interest and imagination. So let's take a look at some first lines!

The Spotters swept into the alleyway like sinister shadows that had left their hosts behind to go hunting.

The book: These Violent Nights

Maddy gnawed the bone in her hand and stared moodily into the dancing flames of their campfire.

The book: Treasures and Trinkets: A Dragon's Brood Tale (The Dragon's Brood Cycle)

Children's Books Recommendations

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Hi everyone! Today I am going to tell you about some children's and middlegrade books written by self-published or small press authors. These are also available on Kindle Unlimited for free!

The Fast Little Fox (The Fast Little Fox & Friends)

Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure through the forest? Follow the fast little fox as he discovers more than he can imagine along the way! What will he learn? Can he make it home in time for supper? Read on to find out!

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Free Books on Kindle Unlimited #5

This post contains affiliate links

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Hi everyone! Welcome back or welcome to the series on my blog where I share books by self-published/small press authors that are free on Kindle Unlimited! Kindle Unlimited is a service where you can get a free trial and then you pay each month and receive unlimited access to millions of ebooks! I'd highly recommend if you love reading ebooks. See the other parts of this series for more free books on Kindle Unlimited! 

So let's take a look at some more indie books that you can read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

The Dacian Enigma (Vialegio Book 1)

The sly deceit and deception of the Dacian King unleashes an Emperor's revenge. A soldier learns the wily crafts of war and politics as he rises through the ranks of the legendary Legion of Gemina. Overreaching ambition lays the framework for fissures within the Roman Empire.

Haze

When Eliza Owens gets a phone call in the middle of the night from a girl she’s never met, she doesn’t know what to think. The girl introduces herself as Paige, and says she used to date Erik Stern, Eliza’s fiancé. What’s more, she has something important to discuss.

The only problem? Paige has been dead for years.

Believing it to be a sick prank, Eliza tries to force it from her mind until Sam, Eliza’s older sister, tells her she met Paige only a few weeks before. And, according to Sam, Paige has nothing nice to say about Erik.

The fight which follows shatters the lives of everyone involved, and Erik disappears without a trace.

Five years later, Erik returns to town after his father’s death. Old wounds quickly resurface, and with them several burning questions. None the least of which is: Who spoke to Eliza and Sam if it wasn’t Paige? And why?

These Violent Nights

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

Kindle Vella Stories to Read

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If you live in the US, you can access a platform called Kindle Vella where authors can share stories in episodes which are uploaded regularly. You can read the first 3 episodes for free and each read really helps the writers! Here are some Kindle Vella stories you need to check out:

Chaotic Roots

In the world of Kable VonSable's Choosing Chaos comes the story of Fynbar and Ekaterina. Magic, romance, and snark are just the beginning. Dragons, fireflies, chaos, and adventures await.

See MJ Hutto's books here.

Night Rider

A conquered nation. Unlikely heroes. Four strangers linked by tragedy and fate. Nikolas burns to escape. Reyma hides her visions. Rhea stirs rebellion underground. And Shade...Shade is a Night Rider, outlawed, unpredictable and dangerous. No one really knows what he'll do, other than keep fighting. Save Those You Can. Avenge Those You Can't. NIGHT RIDER is an epic fantasy in a world with hints of hope, for fans of The Witcher and LOTR. New episodes every Wednesday.

Poetry Books to Read

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People write poetry about so many subjects using varying techniques. There's always something you can get out of reading a poem. Here are some poetry books to check out!

Watercolors: A Selection of Poetry

A hand-selected anthology of 15 favorite poems from author Dorian J. Sinnott's collection over the last decade. This selection includes: Greed, Bereavement of Winter, Frost, Winter Born, Wolf and Lamb, His Muse, Amnesiac, Ghost in the Machine (Flowers for the Dead Man), Calypso, Marionette, Interstellar, The Astronomer, Sunsets, Burying the Ghost, Symposium, Star-Crossed, White Memory, and Moonbeams.

Black Girl Magic

Rachael DK invites us into her world as a multicultural Black writer and cancer survivor, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between meaning of life and mortality, guilt and redemption, fear and courage, hope and change. In this latest poetry collection she shares new and old poetry based upon the emotional and physical pains she journaled throughout her life. It's about Black life, an appreciation of it, and our power to transform it. Anyone can read Black Girl Magic in Poetry to gain respect for one another's journeys, honor our anger and heartbreak as humans, and unleash our truest dreams.

Love Lake

Should We Ditch the To Do List?

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It comes to the question, are to do lists harming you more than helping you?

I'm someone who loves making lists. Lists of tasks I need to, lists of things I feel like I should do, lists of things I want to buy etc. But recently I've been coming to the realisation that maybe rather than assisting me and making me achieve a bunch of tasks, making lists is actually harming my wellbeing.