Author Spotlight

~ Elise Brooke

My story from survival to thrive

 My name is Elise Brooke, I grew up in Hawkes Bay NZ.  My parents moved to NZ from England and South Africa to create their New Zealand Dream, this quickly turned into my New Zealand nightmare. I have written and published two autobiographies in my book series, "The New Zealand Dream,” by Sheila my pen name, I wrote this book to inspire and give hope to others.  

    Writing is a very powerful healing tool, sharing your story can  help others as well as help you on your healing journey. I am a writing mentor who can help people write their own story or with any writing project they are creating.

My passion is creative writing, I’ve been writing for 24 years in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and content. I have published many articles and guest posted on various sites. I conduct interviews on my website which I built from scratch to help promote my fellow writers and host guest postings to collaborate with other writers.

My website is mynzdreamblog.com. One can follow me on Instagram at mynewzealanddream, facebook at fb.me/mynewzealanddream or join us in the group “A Journey of Transformation.”

A brief about my books

    “The New Zealand Dream” is a story and account of my life so far.

You take a journey from birth, growing up in a beautiful countrytown. Moving to the suburbs, discovering New Zealand’s underground in book one; "The Seeds are Sown." Life has been astruggle and a uphill climb, I was born with learning difficulties that caused me challenges every day. My mother, who single-handedly raised my brother and I suffered from mental health problems. Idove into the drug and alcohol scene at a young age, growing up surrounded by violence and gangs. I escaped a religious occult, got married and had children. In book two; "Growth and Destruction,"before I hit the age of thirty, I was a divorced single mother. My support network passed away, and I sank into a world of abuse. I stayed trapped in an abusive relationship for over eight years untilone night he nearly killed me and I finally escaped.  Within these books  you will meet characters you may relate to and characters that will shock you.  "Come on read my story, it is aimed to assist and attest to one being able to cope with setbacks and bounce back."  Elise  

Visit me at my blog if interested in being mentored or just want to collaborate. I have other writers share their work and post, you can too @ mynzdreamblog.com

A message from Susan B. Anna, I met Elise via FB and was instantly a fan. Can't wait to read her work and continue to collaborate and grow with her leadership and guidance. As writers/authors it is important to continue to uplift and support fellow artists.  Thank you Elise for sharing your work with Bella Newsletters, Reviews & more. Interview coming soon as can't wait.  ~ Susan

All rights reserved ~ Susan B. Anna 

The Quest

One thing I have learned these past few months is that letting go and finding peace within is a wonderful thing and can be accomplished. Obstacles and individuals cannot be allowed to run ones life and living each day as if its your last is its own reward.

No one in life is exempt from life's hardships, let downs or failures; but they can all be overcome and conquered if you simply never give up.  We all have something in life we want, desire and even lust for and guess what we can have it all with a little perseverance and a lot of determination to succeed.

NJ Turnpike

I for one have lost my focus, drive and motivation along the way but each time I bounce back and push forward.  Nothing or no one will be allowed to keep me back, my moment is now, my life begins all over again and my success will soon let the doubters see I wasn't kidding.  My faith has grown anew, and I shall never let it falter.

Surrounding myself with positive influences, artists, writers and entrepreneurs has awoken a desire in me to follow my craft through fruition and accomplish my goal of becoming a best selling author.  I thank those who have recently shared their successes with me and welcome all that join me in my quest to succeed in this fast paced and overwhelming world.






~Susan B Anna
Always a Writer, Always a Tale


Copyright~All Rights Reserved

Quote of the Day

“All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.”


~ Brian Tracy

We set our destiny, our dreams, our goals and our future. As a parent I want my child to know that nothing comes easy, some needs may need to be altered, but to never give up on his dreams and wants in life; because if you want it bad enough and you focus on the end results alone you are one step closer.


Successes in life come from those who persevere, those who focus and those who work hard at it no matter the cost.



~Susan B. Anna
Always a Writer, Always a Tale

Artist Spotlight Emeli Sandé

Adele Emeli Gouraguine, born 10 March 1987, better known as Emeli Sandé, is an English-born Scottish recording artist and songwriter. Born: March 10, 1987 (age 26), Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom Nationality: British Spouse: Adam Gouraguine (m. 2012) Albums: Our Version Of Events, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, iTunes Session Parents: Joel Sande, Diane Sande

Sandé's sister made a video of her playing the piano and singing to one of her favourite songs, "Nasty Little Lady". They sent the clip to Trevor Nelson's BBC Urban music competition. Sandé won the show and was offered a record deal, but the management that she met via the competition decided against the deal. Her parents sent BBC Radio 1Xtra a CD of her songs. Ras Kwame played on her "Homegrown Sessions", and four artists that year were asked to do a show in Soho. She met with Watford-born music producer/writer Shahid Khan aka Naughty Boy, who had previously worked with Ms Dynamite and Bashy,[13] and they began writing tracks for artists such as Alesha Dixon, Chipmunk, Professor Green, Devlin, Preeya Kalidas, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah. Sandé soon signed a record deal with Virgin Records and EMI Records.

In an interview, she said "I was doing a show in London for 1Xtra and I met this guy called Naughty Boy. We got in the studio and we clicked work wise. We just started writing, not necessarily for me, we just thought ‘let's write a pop tune’ and experiment. And we wrote the Chipmunk track and I thought nothing of it. Naughty Boy sent it off to Chipmunk who really liked it and wrote his stuff around it." She signed a record deal with Virgin Records in 2010. She later signed another deal with EMI Records in early 2011.

Sandé made her singing career debut in 2009 after appearing on the track she wrote for Chipmunk's first debut single, "Diamond Rings". The single charted at No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts, making it Chipmunk and Sandé's first ever Top 10 Hit. She later appeared on another single singing guest vocals, after collaborating with Wiley on his comeback single "Never Be Your Woman", the single charted at number-eight on the UK Singles Charts becoming Sandé's second consecutive Top 10 Single. Sandé decided against using the name Adele Sandé, due to Adele's growing success, so used her middle name instead. She revealed: "I changed it as soon as Adele came out. I just thought, 'You've kind of taken the [name] now', so I went with my middle name. She was just getting bigger and bigger, so I thought I just really need it."

"Sandé, has an amazing soprano voice and is a true favorite of mine. I can sit and listen to her voice for hours and never ever tire of her so I am totally glad her sister had the foresight to send in that cd. She will certainly be a favorite of mine for many years to come and I wish her nothing more than continued success as a musical artist." Susan B. Anna