Ever wanted to
know how we came to celebrate New Year’s Eve like we do? Whether you’re a
staunch traditionalist who loves the idea of setting new goals, or whether
you’re just curious about the history, there is something undeniably attractive
about wiping the slate clean and being given the chance to have a fresh start each
New Year.
Have
you ever made a New Year's Resolution?
If the holiday
season is catching up on you a bit and you don’t want to dive into a deep read,
here’s a wonderfully informative and engaging 13-minute video that discusses
the history of this tradition.
Unearthing
Ancient Origins and Traditions
If digging into some
more juicy detail is more your style, here are some fabulous resources on the
History of New Year and the reason behind some of the crazy traditions we keep.
Starting
with the earliest recorded New Year’s festivities from 4000 years ago in Babylon.
As with most ancient traditions, they have their roots in some sort of harvest
or astrological origins.
An
interesting insight into some of the foods traditionally eaten on this holiday.
And let’s not forget good old champagne—created,
as most good things, by pure accident back in the 17th century.
The mid 19th
century Germanic origins of ringing in the US New Year with a kiss.
Making
Your Own New Year’s Resolutions
With the New Year
just around the corner, now is the perfect opportunity to think of some
resolutions! Try and stick to a realistic goal that is achievable, that way,
you’ll have far more success at sticking to it and accomplishing it.
Make yourself a
list of mini goals that you can tick off as the year goes past.
If you’re an
author, here’s a FREE PRINTABLE New
Year’s Resolution Checklist for Authors in 2020 — a gift for you from Historical Fiction author, Emma
Lombard. With 45 goals to keep you motivated and on track
with your writing, 2020 is going to be a great year!
New Year’s Resolution Checklist for
Authors in 2020
45 goals to keep me motivated and on track with my writing. emmalombardauthor.com Print off the Checklist HERE!
If you’re a new
author just starting out on social media and one of your New Year’s resolutions
is to start a Twitter account in the New Year, check Emma’s most popular blog
post: Twitter Tips for Newbies.
Follow Emma’s
authoring journey about her upcoming historical adventure, Discerning Grace, by subscribing to Emma’s By the Book monthly
newsletter—with exclusive content just to that publication.
So, what are you
planning for your 2020 New Year’s resolutions? Tell us below in the comments.
MA: I am very excited to introduce you all to a dear, dear friend of mine, Angelina Kalahari. I am sure you will all join me to give Angelina a warm Coffee Pot welcome.
Angelina, before we begin, would you mind introducing yourself to my readers?
AK:
Thank you so much, Mary Anne for such a warm welcome. I’m very lucky that my
operatic singing and performance career lasted over thirty-five years and I got
to travel to many different countries. I sang at the world’s most beautiful
venues, including Buckingham Palace when I was invited there by Queen Elizabeth
II.
But
travelling for singing, was mostly a lonely pursuit and books weren’t always a
good option to take along – this was before eBooks became as popular as they
are today. So, I started to write my own novels, plays, children’s novels,
short stories, etc.
When
suddenly, I became ill and was told my singing career was over for good, not
only was I grateful that my teaching qualifications came in handy, but I
continue to teach voice and singing, as I had done throughout the years
whenever I wasn’t singing. And I was able to change the direction I used my
voice in a different way in my writing.
MA:
What an amazing career you have had, and to sing at Buckingham Palace — Wow! What
inspired you to write Breathing for Confidence?
AK:
Breathing for Confidence is the first book in my first non-fiction series, Your
Voice, Your Superpower. I’ve been thinking about writing this series of
books for the past three years. Many of my students had asked for it. And as
I’m slowly letting go of the singing side of my life, I feel this is my
swansong – my last contribution to the world of all my experience, techniques
and an obsession that has driven me to achieve dreams I never even knew I
harboured.
MA: I have read Breathing for Confidence: Your Voice, Your Superpower and I thought it was brilliant, but I especially liked the way you presented it. How did you come up with your setting and your character?
AK:
I have chosen to write Breathing for Confidence as a story because I
know it’s the best way we learn and remember what we’ve learned. Also, that
way, readers can experience with the main character what it’s like to go
through the training and learn the techniques.
Jake
Tyler, my main character, is an amalgam of all the amazing performers,
wonderful singers and great students I’ve worked with over the years. I’ve
learned so much from everyone and now it’s time to give back what I’ve learned
in a way that I can’t do one-on-one.
The
setting is London, where I live, but it could be anywhere in the world – the
setting doesn’t detract from the techniques.
Many
of my singing students come from a wide range of styles - from opera and
oratorio to jazz, musical theatre, pop and rock and all have benefited from
these same techniques. However, my students have also included public speakers,
company executives, banking industry executives, aeroplane flight attendants,
teachers, young adults preparing for university entrance interviews, lawyers,
actors, TV personalities and even a judge.
Even
though Jake is a singer, these techniques are proven to work for anyone who
wants to enhance their voice through training.
MA: There are many books in the non-fiction genre. Can you tell us three things that set your series apart?
AK:
Yes, one – these books are short because they focus on each individual
technique for voice. Through my years of teaching, I have found that because
the voice is such an intricate instrument to learn, most students focus on one
technique at a time. More advanced singers often want to study one technique
and then must buy an entire book on voice to get to that one thing they need.
Writing the books in this way, helps with that problem immensely.
Two
– because I write the books as a story, readers get the opportunity to learn
with the main character as though they’re the ones being taught the techniques
directly. The main character, Jake, goes through most of the most common issues
with each technique. So, it is a way for everyone reading the books to learn
the correct technique and to avoid doing it incorrectly.
Three
– as far as I know, no other books on voice has ever been presented in this
way. There are vast numbers of voice books already out in the world – some of
which are purely academic, others that delve into techniques, but none of them
do it in the way I am presenting these books. I know this is the way students
will get the most out of studying techniques using a book. Of course, these
books can also be used in conjunction with studying voice anywhere, not only
with me.
MA: One last questions! Can you tell us what you are currently working on?
KA:
I’m currently working on the next book in this series, Voice Placement, Vowels
and Volume, which follows on from Breathing for Confidence.
I’m
also working on the next novel, Heat in the Desert, in my contemporary
romance series, Desert Love.
MA: Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by the blog and chat with us today.
KA:
It has been an absolute pleasure.
If you want to know about breathing optimally then check out this fabulous video that Angelina has made.
Scroll down to find out more about Angelina’s fabulous
new book.
Breathing
for Confidence:
Your
Voice, Your Superpower
By
Angelina Kalahari
Start breathing optimally today for better health,
great voice production and amazing confidence.
With over 35 years teaching, singing, acting, and
directing experience and having been recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for her
contribution to music, Angelina Kalahari is proud to present the first book in
her fabulous new series — Your Voice, Your Superpower.
In Angelina's vast experience, she has found that
stories are the best ways to learn and more importantly remember what we have
learned. Angelina has chosen to use the story of an imaginary voice student,
Jake Tyler, to illustrate how important breathing is to improve your health,
voice production and self-esteem.
So, what are you waiting for? Let Angelina show you
how to breathe optimally in a way that supports not only your voice for
speaking or singing but also your physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Angelina
Kalahari has worked for over thirty-five years as a professional actress, stage
director and operatic soprano, performing around the world. She appeared on
many diverse platforms, such as opening the busking scheme on London
Underground to a recital at the Royal Opera House and everything in between.
She
holds degrees in drama and opera and in 2005 she received recognition for her
contribution to the music, culture and economy of the UK from Queen Elizabeth
II at Buckingham Palace.
Angelina
has always regarded herself as a storyteller, either through music or through
acting and directing. She honed her storytelling skills from a young age,
writing and telling stories to her siblings at bedtime. It became a habit
through the years and a solace while travelling for singing.
Born
in Namibia, and having lived all over the world, she currently lives in London,
UK, with her husband, her fur cat daughter, a rapidly diminishing population of
house spiders and a smallish herd of dust bunnies.
She
writes non-fiction books on the voice, her specialism and obsession for over
thirty-five years, contemporary romance to explore love, women's fiction to
understand love and middle-grade novels to give love. What more is there than
love?
