Another Year, Another Blog Revive?

Yes, I know it's been over a year since my last post here and I did the thing i honestly hate the most about people on the internet these days. They disappear then pop up when they have to promote something. That was me, a year ago. 

today, I just want to post, you know? I enjoy writing blog posts, I enjoy writing in general, so I thought why not revive the blog again? Hopefully this time it will stick. If not? Maybe I will try again another year. 

Anyway, I'm still Monique, I'm still a writer, all the boring things are still the same. I found a bunch of questions on the internet that I thought I could answer when I do not have other content to post. So, I saved them in Scrivener and decided that today I am going to post about  of those questions,  so that you can get to know me a little better.  I'll link other 'getting to know you' type posts here, incase you want to know more. If you want to know even more than that, feel free to leave a comment. 

1. What is your favorite color? Orange

2. 

   Thamba Male Leopard

   What is your favorite animal? Aside from my own? Leopard. 
3. Do you have any pets? 2 cats and a dog. Ollie and Joel have passed but are always in my heart. 
4. Do you have brothers or sisters? 7 brothers, 1 sister. 
   
5. What is the farthest you have traveled from home? Adelaide
6. What is your favorite summer activity? Watching storms, trying to not exist
7. What is your favorite winter activity? Wearing hoodies, 
8. What is your favorite food? Chips and Gravy
9. Who is your favorite superhero? Captain America, special shout out to Bucky Barnes and Iron Man. 
10. Who is your favorite Disney character? Kovu from The Lion King 2. Special shout out to Ariel and Maleficent. 
11. What is the last TV show you binged watched? Please note that the only way I watch TV or movies is to binge watch. I am currently binging Supernatural.
    I should also add here that my proudest binge watch effort was watching all 6 Seasons of Lucifer in 8 days. 
12. What kind of elderly person do you hope to be? Hopefully a crazy cat lady… with a dog…. Maybe a snake
13. What is your favorite random fact? My favorite random fact is that buttered popcorn and Leopard pee smell the same. Not by convenience but a shared chemical called 2-AP. When a popcorn kernel is heated, it creates a chemical reaction that forms 2-AP. Other animals that are have buttered popcorn smelling urine are Genet’s and Binturong’s
14. What is the most ridiculous thing you believed as a child? There are probably a few that could go here, but here’s a funny one: When we were kids, my mum had us believe that there was a little man in side the car’s cassette player that switched the cassette tape to the other side when the first side finished. 
15. What is your favorite song?
    Of all time: Papercut by Linkin Park
     Right now: Demons by Imagine Dragons
16. What is your definition of success? It depends on the scale. When I look back on something I want to be able to tell I did the thing for all the right reasons, not for money or for other people’s validation. I want to make sure I did it because it made my heart feel good.
    
    Another thing, one of my biggest life wishes is that when I do pass away for some one other than my family, my bestie and my pets to think about me one day and for me to have inspired them to do something that they love and can be proud of.  I think if I can leave a legacy of never quitting and to have inspired people, I’d call that a success. 
    

    

    Chris Evans

17. Name one celebrity crush, past or present.? ….Chris Evans…. No surprise there (easy A)  ... Did you know I can talk fluently in Chris Evans gifs? I can talk fluently in Chris Evans gifs. :) 
18. When did you first feel like an adult? Pretty much the day I turned 25. I don’t know what it was about that year but I feel like I flipped a switch from ‘immature brat’ to ‘adult brat’. I started to understand things from a more level perspective. 
19. What do you wish more people understand about you? That I am trying, even though most days it looks like I am not. 
20. What is the craziest thing you ever did on a dare? I flashed the cops on my 21st birthday
    I was dared to “flash” some cars on a drunken walk home from a club, I got confident and announced, ‘Watch the next one will probably be the cops’ low and behold, it was. The were pretty chill, just told me not to be an idiot. I have not done that again. 

Pre Order My Latest Release!

It's been a while since I've had the pleasure of announcing anything, really let-a-lone something to the magnitude of the excitement I am feeling right now. 

So what is it? 

I'm having a short story published in 5 days!! The Wicked End by Monique Cherie (me) will be published in Tangled Rhythm due be released on February 25th. The good news? you can pre-order it now!

Yup! you read that right, this little old author is jumping back into the publishing game with my first short story in several years. 

Here are the details. 

Myself and 11 other authors have been graciously accepted by the amazing R&R Publishing Company to submit our music-themed stories to this publication with all proceeds going to the charity: Notes For Notes - More about them in a moment.

Add it to your Goodreads here: Tangled Rhythm Goodreads

You can Pre-Order it Here: Tangled Rhythm Pre-Order

R&R Publishing company are an indie publishing house that has chosen to focus on anthologies. They are an amazing, helpful, easy to work with crew that I feel honoured to have shared this experience with. the best part about R&R is their efforts for charities. All royalties earned from their anthologies get paid directly to charities. what's to hate?

Check them out here

Notes for Notes:  (Copied from their about me section on their website)

Notes for Notes® (N4N®) was founded in Santa Barbara, CA in 2006 as an answer to the lack of contemporary musical equipment and programs in public schools in order to provide youth with music and production instruction that produces both positive social-emotional and creative growth. Inspired by their time as Bigs in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program the Founders were focused on creating an environment with zero barriers to entry. Youth could have access to top of the line instruments, gear and Producers that would always be there to help them realize that talent inside themselves, all for FREE.

Today, N4N provides access to high quality, recording studio environments, but more importantly, access to positive and encouraging relationships to over 8,500 youth in 23 studios across 11 states/14 cities. Located inside Boys & Girls Clubs/ youth facilities (and soon public schools) N4N Studios are gateways to exploring music, careers in the industry and producing original music that empowers young musicians to realize their identity.

Added by me: 

Notes for Notes is an amazing company that I have been following for some time. When I joined this anthology I was doing it to get my name back out in the publishing industry. I had no problem letting the proceeds go to charities. my previous publications, the proceeds went to cystic fibrosis. The donation and the portfolio were a win-win for me. When I joined this anthology and looked around. I was ecstatic to see the charity they were supporting was something I already cared deeply for. Notes for Notes as such an amazing team on their advisory board, names like Slash, Kenny Loggins, Richie Sambora, Jack Johnson and one of my favourite people in the whole wide world Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco. I'm so ecstatic to be helping a charity that these names are associated with. 

Please click here to check out everything Notes for Notes does. 

 

I was hesitant to submit my story 'The Wicked End' to the anthology. The theme is music. The way I thought of The Wicked End originally I believed the music was not enough to be a part of this. I decided to give The Wicked End a read over before I made my final decision. When I read over it, I came to a realisation. Music is not just about what comes out of our mouth, or what is played by our fingers. Music isn't always what we hear but what we feel. As you read over this section of Clementine's story I hope to portray to our readers that Music is something that we do not control, we do not dictate what we feel when we hear it. For me, music is a spiritual connection that builds a foundation to help me navigate whatever terrain lays ahead of me. Writing is my soul, as much as being a writer is engrained in who I am, and how I exist Music is just as virtual. Without writing and Music, I can't help but wonder how oxygen would continue to exist in my lungs. 

Don't forget!!

Add it to your Goodreads here: Tangled Rhythm Goodreads

You can Pre-Order it Here: Tangled Rhythm Pre-Order

My High School Expierence

A lot of people look back and think of their high school experience with a smile from the warm feeling of a fond memory. Most of us would agree that high school is a time we would probably rather forget. We had weird crushes, super bad acne and were emotional over EVERYTHING. Like most people, I experienced all those things. 

My mum and two of my brothers. 

Like many of you, I had good friends: I was in year seven when I made a first decent group of friends, by year 8, we dwindled down to a group of three, for transparency, I will call them Jade and Leigh. Though I am not in contact with either of them ladies anymore, I am grateful for the things they helped me through, the lessons we learned and the good times we shared. 

Jade, Leigh, and I were inseparable, we loved music, writing and being dramatic. At time
s, that is all I thought that mattered. Sure, it has been something like 19 years since I started high school. Yeah, high school is something I would rather forget, but for some reason, I cannot help but feel bitter about it. In this post, I am going to tell you why. 

(During my formative years I went through major childhood trauma. I might talk on this later in another post, but I just wanted to mention it here as it affects a lot of the events from this time period.)

In year 7, I was a bright kid. Like I mentioned, I had some things going on at home, my choice at this time was to dive into my schoolwork. Stories of typical high school laughs and betrayal and memories of o-so-fun teen drama fill my mind when I think about how much of that year played out. Isn’t puberty fun? 

By year 8, our trio’s personal struggles were starting to take hold, it is not my place to talk on what the other two were going through. I personally was really starting to struggle, inwardly and outwardly. At the mid-year parent-teacher interviews, my mum was impressed. Jade and I were constantly first and second in science class. Leigh and I were almost always high up in our maths class. Teachers had respect for me, it was looking like I was going to be moved up into the intermediate level of our year, mum was so proud. 

Then it all went downhill, fast. 

I do not know the exact date or time of year that it was, I felt as low as I ever had at that point in my life. I attempted to self-harm at school. It is not something I am proud of. The look on my mum's faces when she arrived to take me home is something that I have experienced twice, it is something I will never forget. To this day, roughly 18 years later, I still get tears in my eyes if I think about that look for too long. After this, I had a couple of days at home to get my head sorted a little and went back to school. Things went back to ‘normal’ fast before we knew it, we were levelling up into year 9. 

During the first week or two of year 9, Jade and I were called up to see one of the headteachers of the school. We were given a letter to take home to our parents. The letter was offering us a place in a “life skills” class. This class was explained to us as something amazing. We were told… no our parents were promised that we would have all of the same learning experiences as all of the other kids in our grade. The trade> We would not have to sit our school certificate tests; we would get an ‘average’ mark instead. We would also get help in certain ‘life skill’s’ that we were struggling with. 

It sounded amazing to Jade and me. We were being able to be in all classes with our best friend, all day every day, who could ask for more? Of course, we talked our parents into letting us do it. At some point over the next two years, we had even talked the school, Leigh, and her parents into letting her in the class with us. Oh, what a massive mistake that was, on my behalf at the very least. 

Other than our electives we were never given any worthwhile work. I specifically, remember that the sheets we were given to work through matched up perfectly to the work my brother was being given in the second grade. 

I gave up. 

The home was hard, the school was pointless (other than literally socializing) what was the point? 

My mum and I on my 14th Birthday

My personality changed a lot.  I became an aggressive, argumentative, disruptive kid, these things were extremely hard to grow out of as an adult, some-days, I still struggle holding these things in. So much for life skills, huh?

Our days consisted of a couple of things… wagging… sitting in the corner of the room (because we were bullied if we left it) and writing. Oh, and talking to random (probably creepy) strangers, as well as working off detentions by covering textbooks. Oh, and arguing with whoever would argue. 

We were in a class of kids who were constantly in trouble or causing a ruckus, misfits. I used to think that the three of us were better than that, but I realize now that I personally fitted into the misfit label with a shiny badge. 

I do not feel proud of being so bitter toward something that was a part of my life that ended 16 or so years ago. I honestly think back and believe that the promises that my high school broke are a big part of the reason that I struggle with a lot of the things that I struggle with today.

 They should have taught me how to write an essay, so I did not need to spend endless hours researching them taking away from actually doing my assessments. They should have taught me how to structure a paragraph or a sentence, so I did not have to lose marks on things like that. I never understood the ‘there, they’re and their’s’ or the ‘your, you’re’ until I was 21. Sure, they are something that I should have learned in primary school, they should have been picked up in high school. 

There are so many things that they should have helped me learn so I would be able to grow. Things that would help me today, especially in my writing career.  

Even with all the actions, I did show, they should have certainly picked up that I was ADHD before I was diagnosed at 31. 

My Little Brother and I

I am not saying that I am completely faultless after I gave up and learned how to argue, I was an asshole of a person to deal with and I enjoyed it... mostly. I am also not trying to say it was completely negative. I got my passion for music because I was put in that class. I started writing in year 7 but it really became ‘my thing’ in year 8. It became my lifeline and how I coped, it could have been nurtured a lot more by them, but it was not. 

  Whether it was because of the home issues or the situations we were put in at school, I grew up fast in high school. Is that a positive or a negative? I am not sure. 

 After conversations with my mum, Jade (and probably Leigh, but I do not recall) we…I believe that it was the actions I attempted against myself, as well as the struggles I was having at home that flagged us to be in that class. I believe that they wanted to watch us

make sure we were kept in line. Instead, they put us in the corner of the school and forgot about us. We did not even get a notification/letter whatever about when our formal was on, we found out the next day at school, and that was unfair. (my mom was heartbroken) 

Honestly, I’m not sitting here wishing warts on anybody’s grandchildren or anything, but I feel like as a place of education, they really let us down. They made the mountain of life harder than it needed to be. 

 

Life updates

Once again, it has been a while since I posted consistently on any of my platforms. This time I am feeling confident that I am setting up a routine that I can stick too. A routine that I feel can help stop being consistently inconsistent. I am sure I was just as confident last time, but I feel like I have a greater sense of what I want this time.

So, I am guessing you are all wondering where I have been? I would like to give some epic answer about some epic pandemic adventure I had been on that was super fantastic but, in all honesty, I have no idea where I have been. I would love blame 2020 but to be fair, 2020 hurt my feelings a whole lot less than 2019 did. In all fairness though, 2020 was still a whirlwind.

 

Branding and Name change:

You will probably notice that some things have changed around here. I have changed my pen name from Monique Diplock to Monique Cherie. There are a million and one reasons why I have decided to do this.

One of the biggest reasons is to distance me from 99% of the people I am related too. I know, that sounds pretty harsh, but let me explain the parts that I am able to explain.

All my life I was raised by my mum. My father skipped out when I was less than a year old. I have tried on a gazillion occasions to get to know him, but it is just something that is not meant to be. Of course, there are a lot of personal reasons for this, but that is a big one that I have mulled on for a long time.

I considered taking my mother’s maiden name, McIntosh, which I would have zero problems doing but on the off chance that I decided to get married one day that would probably mean another name and branding change. After a lot of thinking I decided to use the two names that I was given at birth. The two names I would keep unless I was whisked away into some random witness protection programme. They are the two names that will stick with me for life.

Monique Cherie.

I believe I have changed 99% of my branding. I will keep making changes as I remember places. If you do happen to notice something I have not changed yet, please feel free to let me know.

 

What am I working on?

So, what about the other stuff? The important writing stuff…?

I am currently working on completing a short story called ‘The Wicked End’ that I plan to submit to an anthology. I am hoping to have that completed, well and truly sent to the people who need it by the end of January.

Once that is done, I plan to spend February, March and April getting my new adult fantasy ready for Beta readers. My original plan was to have Iridescent ready for publishing by May, but I realized with everything that is going on both professionally and personally that was a little bit of a pipe dream. Even if I was not going through a truckload in both of those categories, it was still a massive pipe dream.

 

Goals:

My goals for 2021 are a little bit more specific than my new year goals have been previously.

Writing:

Iridescent: As mentioned, I would like to have Iridescent ready for hard Beta circulation by May.

I would like to have book one published or have a clear path to publication.

I would like to have the Iridescent series mapped out for at least 3 books.

Other writing:

I would like to have a bank of short stories that I can publish in other anthologies and in/on multiple platforms that can help me build my author brand.

Vlogs, Blogs, and community:

I would like to post weekly on both this blog (my personal one) and my book review blog (The Book Mystress)

Social Media:

This year I would like to build an awesome community around myself. One like what I had when I first started blogging back in 2010.

I would like to promote my content well but not annoy people. I want to use my social network as a network, not just a platform to throw something in people’s faces.

By the middle of the year, I would like to be posting regular videos to my YouTube channel. To do this I need a new computer with bigger space. So, we will see what happens.

Reading:

In my office, I have books, like most people. Among those books I have two exceptionally large shelves that are doubled up with lots of books that I’ve either saved from going to the dumpster or I thought had a great cover. None of those books is particularly appealing. Although every time I attempt to purge them, I find myself feeling guilty about not having read them. A big goal of mine this year would be to read as much of these two shelves as I can so I can feel better

about moving these books on.

I have set a total of 24 books for my goal on Goodreads. I am one and a half books in on the 10th of the first…. I am feeling pretty hopeful, we’ll see.

Personal goals:

I could bet that I could come up with a new personal goal every day. But that is not how this thing works is it? So, my top three personal goals for 2021 are as follows.

Freelance:

I would like to build up a good income by doing the types of things I enjoy. I would love to be able to do them from my home… because you know… introvert… So, I would like to set up and sustain a freelancing business this year.

Move:

If you know me at all, you will know that the house I live in is not a castle. Not in the way it looks, and certainly not in the safety surrounding it. Since I moved in here almost 9 years ago, I have been broken into more times than I can count. I have had tree’s lit on fire, windows smashed, fences broken. It is insane. On the 31st of July 2019, I came home to feed my animals after my brother aka best friend’s funeral to see yet another window had been broken. I cannot take my dog outside unless she is on a leash, even then it is still dangerous for her with the number of strays around. So finally, I am in a position to move to a new house. *massive celebratory fanfare* I had the goal to have this done by Christmas 2020, but Covid-19 and Now I just want to do it ASAP. This is my biggest goal for 2021.

Routine: I have an insane want inside of me to build a good wholesome routine. The routine I want to build will encompass my family, career, health, hobbies, self-care, fun. I just need to feel a little less chaotic. I might have dyed my hair blond and have a radiant smile (don’t know if I do, just assuming) but I’m pretty sure I’m 87 under this 33-year-old exterior.

I am sure there is a lot more I could put in this blog post. Like health goals, house goals, but I am sure I’ve bored you enough at this point. Of course, if you’re interested in that sort of stuff, feel free to let me know.

 

X Monique Cherie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Pistol Daisy by Natalia Leigh

                                                                  What's it about?

The year is 1880, and outlaw gangs roam the West.
When Daisy Allen’s family is brutally murdered by the infamous Hopkins gang, she’s left with two options: drown in a bottle of whiskey and grief, or saddle up and hunt the killers down. Accompanied by strangers in pursuit of the same outlaws, Daisy takes to the Colorado plains with an old revolver and a hunger for revenge. But the Hopkins gang isn’t easily found, and as their pockets run dry and the trail goes cold, Daisy and her companions may be at the end of the road. She must learn how to survive in this dangerous world of outlaws and gunslingers, or her only chance at avenging her family may be lost.

Don’t miss Whiskey City, the next book in Daisy’s cutthroat quest for revenge.






Disclaimer: I was given an ARC copy of Pistol Daisy in exchange of an honest review. 

                     This review was originally posted to my book reviewing blog: The Book Mystress


Review: I’ve been wanting to read the work of Natalia Leigh for sometime now. I’ve had her previous novel Song of The Dryad on my wish list for a while but when the request for review was made I jumped at the chance to see if Natalia’s work was everything I had built it up to be in my mind. I’m delighted to say I wasn’t disappointed.
I received my E-copy of Pistol Daisy in mid-May. When I saw it was on my kindle, I opened it up (like I do with most books I receive) to read the first couple of pages to get a feel of the story and how it’s written. I had every intention to just read the first chapter, maybe the second. The next time I looked up from the pages, it was 45% through the novel. I took a couple of days off to finish the book I was currently reading. When I picked Pistol Daisy up, I finished it just a few hours later.
Pistol Daisy is an extremely captivating novel. I felt deep sorry for Daisy as she endured the events thrust upon her through out this journey. I came to admire her for fighting through the travesties put in front of her to at each turn she took and becoming a strong willed character that can stand up to the gnarliest men.
Natalia Leigh’s writing is seamless. You can tell that a lot of research, thought and time has gone in to sewing together such a fine piece of art.
I thoroughly enjoyed Pistol Daisy. Since reading I have managed to get my hands on Song of The Dryad and will be reading that as soon as I can in hope it will be able to tied me over until I can read more in Daisy’s journey in the upcoming sequel, Whiskey City.


Interested? Check Pistol Daisy out on Goodreads for all the places to purchase it from.