Category: Random Ramblings

Just some updates about some things, random and relevant, who knows!

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Week In the Life…wk30

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It’s time for another Week in the Life video from me.

Last week’s focus on taxes and other admin tasks kinda derailed my focus. I ended up doing too little writing and editing and way too much manuscript reformatting. Yes, a necessary task, but not something I wanted to do. It’s still on going.

In the near future I will be giving the changes to the Short Stories Series through to you. I think you’ll like it.

That’s it for today.

Cheers!

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk29

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It’s time for another Week in the Life video from me.

TAXES TAXES TAXES!

I spend most of my week and weekend compiling our records for tax purposes. The new season opens 21 July 2025 for those living in my part of the world.

Next on the to-do is getting my 3rd term planning done which I started yesterday. I’m a weak planner. It’s a odd concept for me because I don’t know how to handle it when life happens. I suppose, we keep trying, right?

That’s it for today.

Cheers!

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk28

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It’s time for another Week in the Life video from me.

This week was admin-heavy—and somehow, nothing actually got wrapped up. Don’t you just hate that?

But hey, a few wins worth celebrating:
📬 The newsletter went out
🔍 My latest short story, Secrets In The Sand, kicked off on the #BlogAStory series
💬 And I finally faced the truth—my admin is behind.

I also connected with my BETA readers and critique partners this week. They are absolute gold. Even though the free version of the story isn’t perfectly polished yet, it’s solid. And these angels? They help take it to publishing level—especially when they read like both readers and editors. Magic.

💡Want to join my BETA team? Fill out this quick Google Form: https://forms.gle/W7N4RHX5jZdQpGWTA

For the rest of this week, I’m focusing on edits for Silver Murder and squeezing in some marketing for Secrets In The Sand’s pre-order on Amazon KU. Exciting stuff ahead!

That’s it for today.

Cheers!

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk27

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It’s time for another ‘Week in the life’ video from me.

If you’re on my newsletter list, you’re in for a treat this week. A brand new cozy mystery short story you’ll find there. It will then move to my #BlogAStory series on the blog and thereafter to KU! Subscribe below to not miss it!

Less than desired amounts of plotting happened, which is disappointing but here we are. Today is another day.

And then there’s a lot of writing that happened on Silver Murder! Somewhat offscreen because the urge hit me when we’re watching movies or driving or whatever obscure place you can think of. The editing of this cozy should happen this week and then I can finally continue the serial on the blog. Look out for the social media posts and the newsletter for announcements.

That’s it for today!

Cheers

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk26

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It’s time for another ‘Week in the life’ video from me.

Plotting plotting plotting! I did all of that on camera. And the actual writing off camera. Not sure why I did that, but here we are.

We had some internet outage since the weekend and everything had to wait. Especially updating this blog and fixing my website!!! So frustrating when the lovely things in life take a break.

That’s it for today!

Cheers

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk25

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It’s time for another ‘Week in the life’ video from me.

I changed a few things this week. I suppose I simplified it a little bit. I’ll give some more details on the blog.

There’s some plotting and golf and other things I got up to this week. Have a look in the video below.

That’s it for today!

Cheers

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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🎩 Happy Father’s Day to all my incredible readers and followers!

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🎩 Happy Father’s Day to all my incredible readers and followers!

Today isn’t just about socks, braais, or “dad jokes” (though we absolutely love those)—it’s about honouring the presence, wisdom, and quiet strength that fathers and father figures bring into our lives.

Whether you’re a biological dad, a stepdad, a grandpa, a mentor, or someone who’s shown up with love and support in your own unique way, today is for you.

As a writer, I spend so much time lost in fictional worlds, but it’s real-life examples of loyalty, patience, courage, and care that truly breathe life into the stories I create. And you, my readers, remind me constantly of the power of connection and community.

So on this Father’s Day, I want to say thank you. Thank you for being here, for encouraging my journey, and for sharing your stories, thoughts, and time with me. Your presence matters more than you may realise.

May your day be filled with the simple joys that make life meaningful—whether that’s your favourite chair, a strong cup of coffee, a great book, time with loved ones, or a moment of well-earned peace.

Here’s to you—today and always. And here’s to the stories we’ll continue to share together. 💙

Happy Father’s Day!

Cheers!

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Timeline Until 30 April 2025

photo of pen on top of notebook

It’s That Time Again: My Year in Review (April 2024–April 2025)

Last year’s update (until 30 April 2024) is HERE, and the running page of past and present updates is HERE.

It’s old news by now, but I still can’t believe it’s been a whole year since I wrote one of these posts. A whole year since I made it official! Honestly, I thought it would feel different. I thought I’d get more done, too.

Overthinking is a beast of a habit, but I’ve wrangled it pretty well—if I may say so myself. Sure, it still drags me down some days, but I’m a lot quicker to notice it now. And then I do the opposite: I just get on with it.

The inspiration for posts like this comes from The Creative Penn with Joanna Penn, Sacha Black, and the SPA Girls. More on that over on my TIMELINE page.

📆 What Happened in 2025

Published Kobo Frances & Gilbert 1 August 2024

Joined Patreon 26 August 2024

Joined Ream 26 August 2024

Published Eternal Vows (Bonus for F&G) 26 August 2024

Published Enduring Vows (Bonus for J&J) 20 September 2024

Published Apple Books Frances & Gilbert 1 November 2024

Published Author Shop Frances & Gilbert 1 November 2024

Republished Amazon Jack & Jool 1 November 2024 

Republished Amazon Zara & William 1 October 2024

Published WIDE Frances & Gilbert 1 November 2024

Published Kindle Unlimited Leap of Her Own 12 November 2024

Serialised Silver Murder 3 December 2024

Published Eventual Vows (Bonus for Z&W) 3 December 2024

Serialised Lowveld Shadows 4 December 2024

Serialised Undercurrents of Deception 5 December 2024

Publish Kobo Jack & Jool 1 February 2025

Published Apple Books Jack & Jool 1 February 2025

Published WIDE Jack & Jool 1 February 2025

Published Author Shop Jack & Jool 1 February 2025

Published Everlasting Vows (Bonus for M&A) 22 February 2025

Published Kindle Unlimited When Hearts Leap 8 March 2025

Started blogging daily 22 March 2025

💸 Earnings (May 2024 – April 2025)

Amazon earnings from May 2024 to April 2025 R238.31
Kobo earnings R0
Draft2Digital earning R0
Direct sales earnings $1.98

That’s it for this year’s numbers.

📚 Reflecting on the Year

All the old stuff finally got cleaned up, published, and more importantly, left alone! Progress.

I also wrote loads of new content. If you’ve read The Unknown Series, you’ve probably seen the bonus material that came out of that.

Tried new things, too. Serialising on platforms like Ream, Substack, and Patreon was a real highlight—until I realised South Africa isn’t supported. No Stripe. Only PayPal, and readers really don’t love using it. We’ve got Paystack (Stripe owns it, but they keep it boxed in for Africa). Bureaucracy galore!

Luckily, WordPress to the rescue! I’ll be offering stories directly on my website soon, just as soon as I’ve sorted out the Paystack integration. It’s more paperwork than expected, but hey, nothing I can’t handle.

💪 The Real Wins

Beyond the writing and publishing, I’ve had some huge personal wins. Midlife hasn’t been the easiest, but I’m getting there—and that makes the writing side lighter too. So, so grateful for that.

💭 The Disappointments

Honestly? I’m disappointed in the earnings. I’d hoped to be making a steady $100/month by now. Clearly, I’ve not hit the right audience or strategy yet. But I’m still trying, and I’ll keep experimenting for the next year.

That’s it for this year’s review.

Cheers
Anne

PS. Past and future timeline posts will go to the timelines page

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk21

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It’s time for another ‘Week in the life’ video from me.

A productive week all in all. We welcomed some family for the weekend and I travelled for exams. So nothing too exceptional to report.

That’s it for today!

Cheers

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**

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Week In the Life…wk22 – wk24

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It’s time for another ‘Week in the life’ video from me.

After a bit of a hiatus, I’m back. I missed blogging and writing. I think I’ll continue with the daily blogging and updating here on the website. In the meantime I’m getting knee deep into my cozy mystery, Silver Murder, and the plotting of my fantasy.

That’s it for today!

Cheers

**Please send me an email with your feedback at anne@annecwest.co.za. Comments vanish and get missed, hence emails.**