Voice to the voices

  It was 2019, I was working as a Business Manager for a cosmetic brand in London, UK. I have always worked my way through since I was 15 years old. At the age of 17, I ran away from my home to follow my heart and passion. Some of you would ask why you had to run away to pursue those things, and yes it can sound weird, but whilst I was living in that house, I couldn’t follow either of those things. One day whilst I was working, something unexpected happened. All of a sudden, a strong pain on the left side of my body froze me, and then a sense of numbness started from my left big toe up to my neck. I thought it was just something stress related because I was working 12 hours per day. Instead, four months later, filled with pain and fear, my doctor told me that it was a tumour and we had to operate immediately. I was terrified, I felt as if my life did not have any meaning, so from that day on I laser-focused my days on writing. If I had to leave this world to get to the beyo...

  It happens to the best of us. You have toiled for weeks, months, even years, and poured your blood, sweat, and tears into the effort to create a literary masterpiece. You have got it edited and revised to perfection. Then – hooray! – it was published and shared with the world! But then the reviews start coming in, and not everyone is in love with your work. During your literary career, you are bound to get one or two (or ten) bad reviews. Yes, it stings, and it can feel like a punch in the gut. Here are some suggestions to help you deal with a bad book review and even use it to your advantage. No one likes to be told their hard work is not great. It is perfectly natural to feel discouraged, angry, and defensive. While you do not want to dwell on your rage and spiral into despair, it is cathartic to give yourself some time and space to feel what you are feeling. Scream into a pillow. Punch the air (you can even picture the face of your nemesis while you jab. I will not judge). V...