Cricut Mania for Shiver and Fears

 I guess using Cricut machines are a popular thing. Along with 3D printers. Now, I do hope my creativity doesn't jump into THAT anytime soon.

I actually didn't think I'd be into a Cricut machine, but making stickers was a hard project to pass. But an idea came to mind that I couldn't pass: a cartoon character cutout! I've done a few before. But I had to draw the character piece by piece and glue them together. Fun, but difficult.

Now that I have a machine, it be fun to try making a character. So, I made one. You can see this creation on my TikTok channel. As for you, if you want to make this image... Blossom Cut Out Project I guess you can click here and make it with YOUR Cricut machine. Meanwhile

 this is what it looks like. I wanted to make the eyes glitter and the bow metallic, but I didn't have those materials yet. So for now, I'll just stick with the simple, basic look.

Now, besides cards (Which might be best to get a Cricut Card mat) and bookmarks, I just wonder what other projects I could start on?

Which reminds me of a goof I made earlier this year. So I used AI to create a birthday card image. For nearly a year, I've passed out this card to many people. 

This morning I needed to make another card, so with a machine, I decided to make it unique. When I printed the image out, how shocked was I that AI has the words HAPPY BRRTHDAY hanging on a banner!

Now if I had caught this months ago, I'd have fixed it, but this card has been passed around in video, ecards, and print out... in other word, it's too late to fix. And with the Beastly Buddy Contest coming up, there's really no point. Because by November the card will be nothing but a memory...

But next time I make this card. I'll make a blueprint first... It seems to work better that way!

Birthday Ecard of 2025

I bet you have a friend with a birthday coming up. We always provide a card for these occasions. 

   Last year, we tried making it special by using cards from Greetingisland, but I discovered that those cards expire at some point. I wonder if you need an account to access them; I might look into that. 

   This experience reminds me of a situation I had with a fan, whom I'll refer to as Barry. He mentioned that he sent the ecard to his friend, but the friend never received it. Naturally, I looked into the issue.

   Unfortunately, I couldn't resolve the problem. If the card can't be saved for keeps, what's the point of making another one? That’s a solution that will have to wait for another day. 

   This year, we created an e-card, but I recorded it as well. It turns out that not only do you need an account, but you also have to pay monthly! This isn't related to Greetingisland; we haven't checked that option yet. We are already purchasing business cards, stickers, and materials for more buttons. The answer is no—we are non-profit. 

   As of now, we don't have the new link ready. So if you have a friend with a birthday coming up, please send them this link: HERE.

Love to Read for Obvious Reasons

 Let's take a break from books for a moment. Let's discuss music and holidays. No, I'm not talking about the Super Bowl. I'm talking about Valentine's Day. Now before I tell you more. I want to play a little game: There is a link hidden within this blog. Can you find the link and see where it leads you? Here's a hint: You'll LOVE it.

Now, anyway. I want to tell you about Valentine's Day. It's strange to me, these special days don't seem to be as admired as they used to. Valentine's Day was the perfect time to show your admirer how you felt. It was the perfect time for love songs. Shiver and Fears even made a book on Valentine's Day, and you true fans, know which book it is.

As for now, I am spreading the love with these:

, Every year a different set of Valentine's cards is made for the kids. One thing I've learned over the years is that the card isn't what matters, it's the candy. 

I will never forget as I got older passing around cards and candy somewhere in my path I'd find a card I'd given laid out on the floor. Completely forgotten.

In fact one girl didn't want a valentine, because she thought I was in love with her!

I can't say you'll get one, but what you can do is save the image of one and send it to a friend.

Hey, were you able to find that link? You didn't forget, did you? Well, try to find it, I promise you'll like the link. Don't know where it is? If you notice, you'll see it's different for any other word in this blog...

We got a sale going on!

 Shiver and Fears has sold over 100 items to people. Not just books. We have sold pencils, pens, pillows, pins... No we don't just sell things that start with 'P'. we also sell shirts and stuff like that, but the most important thing of all is we have cups!

If you haven't heard, these cups are special. Not only do they change color, (Which is something everyone is excited about) but these cups also include a qr code leading those who scan it a free book!

I told you some time ago, Shiver and Fears is getting into the spirit of scanning for your attention.

This is the code we send to our shoppers. With this purchasers can pay for their item they want from where ever they are. Do we deliver? You bet we do! Will it cost... Yes, but only a limit. But we haven't gotten there yet!

Now What do we have to sale?

Check these items out;

Pillows from Animated Eclectics

hand-made copied books

Birthday cards

color changing cups

stickers

 pins provided by Elevated Growth

We are even trying to connect with Cam-Dazzle and have hoodies for sale!

If you wish to know the price of items... well I'll tell you, But ONLY if you comment below! What can I say, I like leaving them wanting more!

The Last of 2022

 December is about to come to an end. All the gifts were handed out, all the birthdays have been celebrated and books have been sold.

So what is Shiver and Fears planning to do in 2023?

Well, the first event of course is the Martin Luther King parade. Shiver and Fears 4th parade to attend. as of right now, I am printing banners and fliers to pass around. Next in line will be the 3rd grade writers contest. Last year, 3rd grader just created titles, now I am challenging them to write it themselves. Nothing big, just a short story. This story will not make it to online stores, but it will be given a chance for reading once it's put together.

Another event I am working on is Shiver and Fears valentine card and, new to the list, birthday cards.

What is special about this card is the special little message. It's Shiver and Fears new code! How to solve it, you'll have to wait and find out. But when these fans do solve this code, they will receive a Shiver and Fears prize.

And guess what? I'm planning on coming back from break. 

After taking the whole year off from writing, it's time for me to get back into writing. But what series do I continue with? Shiver and Fears or Magical Times?

If you want a say so, then go to Shiver and Fears YouTube channel. It's not hard to find, just go a vote on the polls. we'll see which book get more interest.

As of now, Hapy New Fears!!

"Love" Horror Fiction

Shiver and Fears are sending love to many fans in different ways. One way we are doing this is by having a giveaway. Fans are commenting "Love That Book" and are receiving audiobook codes. You can get your audiobook code by commenting "Love that book" on the blog.

We are also giving codes to the first 5 birthdays on Facebook. So far we've given over 11 codes so far.
Another way we are sending love to our fans is by having them meet Creeps. Who is Creeps? If you really don't know Creeps, you're really behind. He's our pet mascot, for the 10,000th time:

< This is Creeps!

He's Shiver and Fears mascot, we found him. He may look a little mean, but he's nice.

especially when you give him a Valentine!

This Valentine's Day we are passing out Creeps' cards to a bunch of children at a public school. Shiver and Fears actually will be making a few appearances to a lot of kids for St. Valentine's Day.

Now, you might think Shiver and Fears isn't very scary if the author is celebrating Valentine's Day because Valentine's Day isn't scary. If that's the case, you haven't read: "The Dangers of Love" a valentine favorite from Shiver and Fears <click here

Word of advice, you should wish Creeps a Happy Valentine's Day on social media, He doesn't like feeling alone for Valentine's Day and might go on a rampage if he feels left out. I mean just because he's an ice monster doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings. I mean, he does love his fans... especially for dinner!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!