Hello, How Do You Squidoo?

Well, one thing you already know about me is that I am a writer. So let's start there!
I have loved to write, ever since I was a small child old enough to hold a pencil and do something with it. Writing is what defines me; I am a bard, through and through. I express myself through my writing most effectively - when I was a child, I was incredibly shy, and was always able to get across what I wanted to say on paper, but never with the spoken word!

These days, my shyness is all but gone, but I still find it easier to express myself in written words, particularly when it comes to getting across my point of view!

So what do I like to write?

First and foremost, I love to write stories. Fantasy fiction, in particular. One of these days, I will finish my much-neglected novel.

I have about five half-finished novels, over a hundred plots for more, and several thousand ideas for titles. I generate ideas constantly... and I thank God for the gift of



I also love to write poems, although I have not written any for a long time. I went through a phase between 2001 and 2004 where I wrote poem after poem; I feel they came not from me, but from a higher source. They come only fleetingly now, but I am content with that. Back in those years, they needed to flow from me. At the moment they don't. Perhaps one day in the future, they will again.

Promise & Understanding








Watch the ocean
Chase the shore
Escape away
Come back for more

And so let me
Run free and light
Then I'll come back
Before the night

(c) Louise Heyden - January 2004

Yes indeed, I am lucky enough to be a published author! Up until the age of 28, I lived in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, in the South East of England. I began my working life as a Sound Engineer making radio commercials, but after a break from employment (spent writing that novel!) I changed career for a while and worked as a Library Manager for a local secondary school.

As you will discover later, I LOVE books. So to work in a placed filled with them, getting to inspire young people to be just as enthusiastic about them, was a dream come true, and incredibly fulfilling. I loved it so much, and felt so passionately about the importance of encouraging a love for reading and literacy in children, that I wrote a book about it.

My wonderful publishers, EPrint, released the book in May 2009. Aimed at school librarians and those involved with the school library, "Booked In: How to Run a Successful School Library and LRC" looks at how to manage a school library well, get the right stock, think up exciting activities, and basically turn the library into a busy community hub!

So in addition to that fantasy novel, I'm also working on some further titles for EPrint too.

In 2008 I left Clacton-on-Sea and the school library behind to begin a new chapter in my life! Having fallen very much in love with my beloved fiance John, I decided to move up to his home county of Cheshire, where he runs his own AV business. We bought a house together, and in addition to returning to my sound engineering roots, I began to explore my creativity in fields other than writing.

Chance online encounters and newly forged friendships brought to my attention the world of fantasy arts and crafts... and in particular, my big passion, faeries! Suddenly, avenues of painting, sculpting and crafting opened up to me in a way I had never thought possible.

From learning to make handmade cards, to learning how to sculpt figures out of polymer clay, I eagerly began self-teaching myself it all.

I have now launched my work online as Realm of MerFaery, starting with an eBay shop which you can find here! I am very excited about this new venture and will have lots of lovely new things listed in the coming weeks! I have also launched Zazzle and CafePress stores which you can see below!

Where to Find Realm of MerFaery on the Web!

Official Websites (COMING SOON!)

Realm of MerFaery Official Website

FaeryCats Official Website

On Squidoo

Realm of MerFaery

FaeryCats

Miss MerFaery

Online Stores

Realm of MerFaery eBay Store

Realm of MerFaery Zazzle Store

Realm of MerFaery CafePress Store

Fan Pages and Networks

Realm of MerFaery on Facebook

FaeryCats on Facebook

Realm of MerFaery on MySpace

Realm of MerFaery on Fairy Society

Follow Miss MerFaery on Twitter!

Join Miss MerFaery on Enchanted Folk!

to me.

Those I love are very important to me. I come from a small family; my parents are both only children so no cousins, aunties or uncles for me! I like being part of a small, close-knit family, and now I also get to enjoy being part of a larger one too, now that I'm engaged to my fiance John, who has lots of siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews!
John and I met in Barcelona through work (at a 3GSM mobile technology conference!!) and it was love at first sight, or should that be soundbite?? We both work in the audio visual industry and although I am concentrating more on my writing and art now, I still help John out with his AV business, which is great as I get to still keep my foot in the water!
We hope to get married in September next year and are expecting our first baby this November!

In November 2009 I will become a Mummy for the first time! Little Bumplet is due on the 8th November and is already making him or herself known, with plenty of kicking and wriggling!

I am loving the process of being pregnant (most of the time!) and can't wait to be a mum.

I've been fortunate in my pregnancy, with no morning sickness and no problems so far. My immunity is suffering a little, however, as I did come down with flu recently, which was quite an experience. I rang the doctors 24 hours after the new swine flu procedure had come in, and even though to this day we don't know whether I had swine flu or normal flu, I was treated as if I did, and prescribed Relenza, which I took reluctantly (being an organic mummy to be and not wanting to take drugs unless I had to!). Happily the symptoms were only mild, and the Relenza got to work on my poor struggling lungs. I missed the first day of our holiday in Cornwall, but was able to enjoy the rest. Have now come home with a cold and a pulled muscle in my side, but still looking on the bright side!!

We are now having fun getting the house ready, decorating and planning the nursery!

I love my garden! When we bought our house in Cheshire we fell as much in love with the garden as we did the house. It's a lot of work, and we have a long way to go to get it looking how we want, but it's worth it!

When we took the garden over it was mainly cottage style at the front, which is perfect because this is my favourite style, the classic English country garden filled with snapdragons, bleeding hearts, lavender, love-in-a-mist, sweet peas and more. The back garden had very little in the way of flowers as it was more of a practical garden - mainly lawn and bushes with a large vegetable plot and fruit cage at the back. Right now the veggie patch is a higgledy-piggledy jumble of wildflowers and weeds, and the fruit cage is a jungle, but once pregnancy is out the way I can't wait to get my hands dirty and get it back to being a working garden. I have always wanted to grow my own food and can't wait to get started!

My other garden plans include a wildflower meadow and lots of wildlife-friendly plants!

Favourite Things About My Garden...

Watching and listening to the birds
Watching things grow from tiny to huge!
Meditating among the flowers
Our three oak trees
Enjoying the peaceful sunshine
Planting faeries amidst the flowers!

Especially the sea! This picture was taken from Merlin's Cave in Tintagel, Cornwall, on a truly wild day! I love to feel the wind in my hair and the spray of the ocean salt. If I had my way, I would spend everyday outside in Mother Nature, exploring oceans, beaches, wildwoods, ancient rolling hills and magical mountains.

Mainly because I don't like to be pigeon-holed, and because I find it impossible to define my spirituality, and therefore hate it when other people try to!

I am a free spirit, who believes in many things, but not in religion. To me, religion represses the soul. It persecutes. It hurts people.

So I prefer to call myself spiritual rather than religious. I draw beliefs from both Christianity and Paganism, believe it or not. Is it possible to be both? Probably not! There's another prime reason why I don't like those labels.

I long for a world in which people respect each others' spirituality. Is it really too much to ask? Is this what God would want - people hating and persecuting one another because they do not hold the same beliefs? I think not.

Well, I call myself a kitchen witch, which would make people assume that I am a pagan, but I am far more complex than that!

I believe in God, and Jesus. I might not go to church and I might be a witch, but I pray each night to God, Jesus and the angels, and talk to them regularly. However, I also believe in the Goddess, whom to me is the embodiment of the spiritual here on Earth. God is the Heavenly Father, the Goddess is the Motherly Earth.

I believe in angels, and that they can do a great deal to help us here on the physical plane.

I also believe in faeries, and other spirit beings, and I believe that the different goddesses and gods of the world are avatars, ascended masters, and manifestations of God and the Goddess.

I believe that being a witch is a perfectly natural thing, and to me it has nothing to do with specific rituals or casting formal spells (Wicca is not for me, rather the natural path of traditional hedgecraft), but has everything to do with being attuned to Mother Nature, the cycle of the Earth, and living in harmony with the world around us. The magic comes from that! It is about honour and respect, healing and sacredness. Consequently, the ways of the druidess and shamaness call to me also.

Attuning myself to the Spirit Realm opened my eyes to a whole new way of Being. I shall tell you of this journey in another lens... for now, Blessed Be, my friends. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about this mischievous merfaery...