Plugging Away

I didn't accomplish a lot of writing related things this past week, but I did get some things out of the way that I don't like to do. Such as:
Adding up my expenses and income from writing in preparation for taxes.
Polishing up a blurb and synopsis for one of my books.
Rearranging some things in my office do everything looks more organized. (Now I can't find some things.)
Cleaned out some cupboards with my granddaughter's help. Lots of noise. At least, she had fun.

Then there were things I did like that I worked on this past week. Such as:
Started the plotting and character descriptions for my next fantasy series.
Sketched out a marketing plan.
Organized some things for my writing group responsibilities.
Extended my workout time from 40 minutes to 50-60 minutes. Adding some intervals this week.

Adding up my income from 2017 was a dismal task. My sales numbers were really down last year. My publisher assures me this is true across the board for a lot of small presses and indie authors. I figure I have to try harder to make sure readers find me. Working on that though it's another thing that takes time away from actual writing.

"Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of." Benjamin Franklin

Winter has mental issues. It's not sure what it wants to be. After ten straight days of sub-freezing weather, and some sub-sub-sub-freezing, it was in the 60's last Friday. Now, a few more days of cold, a little snow, and in the 50's next weekend. Make up your mind, winter, you s#&*!

Anne R. Allen had an interesting post about how the start of your book can kill your sales. I've heard most of them before, but from the manuscripts I've been asked to read by beginning writers, these suggestions aren't as well known as you might think.

Don't forget IWSG Twitter pitch party on Thursday. Wish I had something ready to pitch. Use the #IWSGPit tag and go find an agent of publisher.

I read somewhere this past weekend that people are so busy clicking on and reading about the political drama and the sexual assault and harassment news that they're not looking at or reading fiction as much. Seems to me that we need more escapism from the reality than ever. Everyday in the news, it's like 'What or Who said or did something stupid, arrogant, or dishonorable.' Crazy times.

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are actually rearranging their prejudices." William James

Are you ready for #IWSGPit? Is winter being a little crazy in your neck of the woods? Does all the insane political and celebrity news distract you online?

IWSG: 2018 #1

Can you believe it? I guess so since we're all here. It's the first Wednesday of the month and of the new year. That means it's Insecure Writer's Support Group posting time. Share your victories, rejections, hopes, and plans with this wonderful group started by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Find the entire list of participants here.

Don't forget the IWSG Twitter Pitch fest coming on the 18th of this month. It's bigger and better than ever. Wish I had something ready to pitch. Maybe by the time the next one comes around.

As usual, each year I make plans for what I hope to accomplish in the coming year in regards to my writing. I'm working on a new epic fantasy series. I'm just in the plotting stage but hope to get working on it soon. I finished the first draft on my latest romance novel and need to do the second draft with some major rewrites as the first order of business in 2018. After that, I already have the general world building for my next romance series figured out. I'm also looking for home for my fantasy series that lost its home with its publisher closed after publishing the first book of three. Those are my plans.

"Of a good beginning cometh a good end." John Heywood

On the personal front, I was disappointed (hugely) when my old knees said no more jogging last summer. Walking doesn't give me the same workout without putting hills into the mix. But those of you with bad knees know that going down hills is the worst. So I bought myself a mini-machine that is a combination of a stepper and elliptical. It takes up almost no space and I can move it easily. Love it so far though my calves complain every day.

Looking forward to more time with my grandchild this year. Also looking forward to the latest Avengers movie coming out in May.

I saw Amazon has come out with a water proof Kindle so we can all read while in the pool. Sounds good. On the less great front, I saw a statistic that claims that 17% of all eBooks have been illegally downloaded. That's depressing.

And happy days, after an entire year of missing it, in 2018 I'm using the Old Farmer's Almanac as my desk planner again. So get ready for some great factoids. Did you know that today at 12:35 am EST, the Earth reached perihelion, the point in its orbit when it's closest to the sun. Doesn't feel very close here in the frozen lands of Pennsylvania. Did you know that one quarter of your brain is used to control vision? And a group of frogs is called an army?

Wishing you all a happy and productive 2018. Have you made plans for the year? Would you like to have a waterproof tablet? Every heard of the perihelion? Ever seen one of those frog armies?

A Week of Opportunity

Where to begin? This Thursday is #IWSGPit. I hope you've polished and perfected that pitch.

There's an amazing list of participants, agents and editors.

Also, this is the last week to send your submission for the next Insecure Writer's Support Group nonfiction anthology Guide to Writing for Profit. Can't wait to get my hands on that.

C. Lee McKenzie is offering Sliding on the Edge for free:

 Scarred. Scared. Alone. Can sixteen-year-old Shawna Stone overcome her inner suffering and transcend the past? 

Shawna has spent the first sixteen years of her life in Las Vegas and learned to handle anything from a Las Vegas hustle to skipping out on the rent. Damaged inside and out, she's survived with a tough, hardened attitude. When her mother abandons her, with only a bus ticket and the name and number of stranger to call, this troubled , desperate teen finds herself on a California horse ranch with Kay Stone, the steely, youngish grandmother she's never known. 

Kay overwhelms Shawna with rules and daily barn chores, and Shawna baffles Kay with her foul-mouthed anger and shrugging indifference to everything--except the maltreated horse on the ranch next door. But it's worse than even Kay suspects: Shawna's driven to cut herself by Monster, that strange voice inside her head. Kay struggles to keep the ranch going and fears that unless she helps this girl, she could lose her last living family member.

As this unlikely pair struggles to co-exist, will they overcome their suffering and transcend the past?

Find it on Amazon,   Smashwords,   Kobo,   Barnes and Noble

Michael J. Sullivan, once a guest on IWSG, has a new book release tomorrow. Age of Swords in the second book in his newest series. He's one of my favorite fantasy writers and a nice guy on top of that. If you're looking for a good epic fantasy series to indulge in, try this author.

Tomorrow is also the day my latest, Hunter's Exiled Lady, is available on Amazon. After a frustrating week finding the time to write, I'll be excited to see how this book sells. Sometimes when I get my royalty checks I want to weep.

Wow, does the trailer for the second season of Stranger Things promise another great season. I hope the show avoids a sophomore slump. Salvation, the short season summer show on CBS, is pretty good. Lots of science and intrigue along with interesting, imperfect characters. Zoo gets a little crazier every season, but it's summer so I'll take it.

Do you have your Twitter pitch ready? Know something about promotion you can share with IWSG members? Ready to pick up a free book from C. Lee McKenzie? Did you see the trailer to Stranger Things?

IWSG: July 2017 Edition

Wow, we're more than halfway through the year. Where did the time go? And it's the first Wednesday of the month so it's time to share our insecurities and offer encouragement to each other. Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh who started this wonderful group. You can join and receive all the wonderful benefits of being a member. Find other members of the group or sign up here.

What are those benefits? There are too many to name, but lots of people believe in IWSG as proven by IWSG being selected as one of The 101 Best Websites for Writers. Congrats to everyone who put in so much hard work for this to happen.

Don't forget about the #IWSGPit coming up at the end of July. Get your pitch ready.

Today's question: What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?

It's tough to pick just one but I have learned over the years how generous writers are to each other. They help each other. They share advice and give of their time. We may write alone but it's not really a lonely job unless you want it to be.

My latest book is no available on Amazon. This if the first time I've stepped into dystopian territory. The Survivors of the Apocalypse Series is set 300 years after a plague wipes out 99% of humanity. A city of a few thousand is protected by a dome while outside in the wilderness, a small number or people live who were immune to the disease. Now the city people are running out of resources and desperation sets in. Who decides who lives and who dies? Can the outsiders be the secret to finding a Hunter's Exiled Lady opens the trilogy when two outsiders come upon a small group of people exiled from the city. Even if the exiles somehow survive the plague, they must adjust to the dangerous frontier life outside the city walls.
cure?

The little getaway for my husband and I last week was great fun. Until we got home and he discovered he'd been bitten by something, probably a spider. Doctor visits and some harsh antibiotics later and he's on the mend. July 4th was fun at the house. Burgers on the grill and the children playing games. By children I mean my grown children.

Yippee for Killjoys coming back on last week also. I also caught up on Zoo before season 3 started last week. It gets stranger and stranger. Gotta love that. And the countdown is on to the return of Game of Thrones. Yes, the science fiction and fantasy shows are my favorites.

Did you see any good fireworks for the 4th? Is your Twitter pitch ready? Do you enjoy Zoo or Killjoys? Ever have trouble with a bug bite?

IWSG: I Love June

Welcome to the June edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group monthly blog hop. This supportive group was the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. There is so much going on with this terrific group. Make sure you visit IWSG Home and see what project is coming next for members. It's exciting. It's great to see Pat Hatt and Nick Wilford moving into the administration part of the group.

The question for this month: Did you ever say "I quit?" If so, what happened to draw you back to writing?

I doubt many writers can honestly say they never thought about quitting. A little over a month ago, I considered it. And right after I signed a new contract for a book. Lots of things going on in my personal life. Things I had no control over. All the other responsibilities I had taken on nagged at me and drained my energy. So I trimmed my work load, set some priorities and kept with my writing. No magical epiphany. Sometimes writing is just forcing yourself to sit down at the keyboard and keep going.

So still here, working on some edits for that book I received the contract for. Admiring a little cover art for the first book in a dystopian romance series, Hunter's Exiled Lady. More about it later.

In other book news, in case you haven't already heard. Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaStar is now available in audio book. Check it out on Amazon.

I hope you're still thinking about the #IWSGPit coming up in July. Today, if you write romance, you can practice by visiting #CarinaPitch.  Tomorrow, you can jump into Pitmad. Good luck. You have nothing to lose by jumping in.

I don't usually enjoy medical shows, but I'm looking for to The Night Shift coming back on for the summer season. Of course, Game of Thrones will be back in July. The new season of Sherlock is on Netflix already. It's really good if you haven't watched it yet.

A little science that sounds like fiction but isn't. If you haven't heard about the wasp that turns cockroaches into zombies, you can get all the facts here.

So what do you think about IWSG newest endeavor? Ready to do some Twitter pitches? Ever say 'I quit?'

Opportunities Galore

Lots of things going on that writers can take advantage of in the near future. Calling back to last weeks' fun with Reedsy and #IWriteBecause, Reedsy is offering a 25% discount to IWSG members. If you're looking for some help with editing, design, promotion and marketing, they're a place to start looking. You will have to be a new account to get the discount. Follow this link to sign up.

Savvy Authors are having a pitch fest from May 17th to May 19th. I didn't look at their agent list but most of the editors and publishers seem to be for romance and/or YA. They have clear rules and also a page of instructions with examples of how to write that pitch. Even if you aren't interested, you should check out their page and let it help you prepare for #IWSGPit.

On June 7th, Carina Press, a digital first line of Harlequin, is holding its fifth annual pitch fest on June 7th. So if you have a romance novel to pitch, use this #CarinaPitch. They have guidelines on their site for what they're looking for.

This coming weekend, I'm attending the 30th annual Pennwriters Conference which will be held in Pittsburgh. I'm looking forward to not only networking opportunities but also have a few workshops picked out that I hope will be of use to me in promotion. Since I'll be there all weekend, I probably not post here next Monday, but I'll have lots of good stuff to share in later posts. Remember you can always check out the IWSG Conference Page and find an opportunity for yourself.

I'd hope to finish my WIP before the conference, but I'm going to be just short on that first draft. Working on the dark moment right now.

“I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.” 
― Mitch Albom, For One More Day

Hope those of you who are mothers had a good day yesterday. My children and husband did a wonderful job making mine special. It was great after a couple of really, really busy weeks.

"If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?" Milton Berle

I had some good news on the TV front when NBC canceled Timeless but then decided to bring it back in summer 2018. It was the only new show I started watching this past TV season. But three hours of TV shows per week is good for me.

Any good opportunities you're taking advantage of in the upcoming weeks? How did you spend Mother's Day? Did any of your favorite shows get canceled? Are you tired of rain where you live?

Plowing Onward

I hope I'll have a chance to watch lots of inspiring videos courtesy of Reedsy in their campaign to raise funds for a great cause. Share your short video of #IWriteBecause and they will donate $10 to the Room to Read organization. And here's another awesome thing for IWSG members, you can receive a $25 discount for Reedsy services. Read today's IWSG post to learn more.

I didn't post a video because ... life jumped up and bit me in the a** last week. Actually over the course of the past two weeks. It was difficult to keep up with my duties to all my different writing organizations and my own writing goals. There came a day last week when I was ready to quit everything. Every online group, every group I belong to and even quit writing the WIP I'm 60K into. Everything was too much. But I thought of my parents. I grew up on a dairy farm. For those of you who don't understand dairy cows, they need a schedule to ensure top production of milk. Every twelve hours, they expect the farmer to be there. No matter what happened, the cows get milked. No illness, family tragedy, or level of exhaustion or frustration can interfere with that schedule. And my parents always did. The cows got milked on time despite weddings, graduations, illness and grief.

So I kicked myself in the a** and here I still am. I apologize to my friends whose blogs I didn't have time to visit last week. I'll do better. I completed paperwork for my publisher related to my newest contract. I gathered all the paperwork together for my upcoming Pennwriters' board meeting and prepared my own reports and sent them. I prepared what I needed for my meeting of my local Chapter of RWA and attended that meeting on Saturday. I cooked meals for the family, mowed the dang grass, and got back to my WIP. Everything is not wonderful and good, but the cows are getting milked on time, to be metaphorical. For a few days, I felt like was letting everyone down. But my parents taught me that sometimes you just have to keep going until you come out the other side.

Onto another good thing. The Connective by Patrick Hatt is now available. I have this on my Kindle and it moved to the front of the TBR line though it sounds pretty spooky. As usual, Pat amazes me with his prolific writing. How do you do it, Pat?

I told you about my local RWA chapter being awarded the Chapter Excellence Award. They have this banner up at the RWA site. Pretty cool to be part of this dynamic group.

I didn't get to see Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, but I'm hoping my youngest son will take me for Mother's Day. He usually takes me to a movie I want to see that my husband doesn't for gifts. Counting on him.

Did you make a video about why you write? Had any dark days lately? Did you see Guardians? Are you getting your pitch ready for the #IWSGPit yet?

IWSG: May It Be Wonderful

It is May already and time to share our insecurities about our writing with the other members of our group. Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting this terrific group. If you're not already part of it, sign up to be a IWSG member here.

What to know what's going on with the group? Check out a few of the events and happenings on today's IWSG post.

Big, BIG news! Yesterday, IWSG released its newest anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life. You can get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM and Kobo. It's already getting lots of great reviews. You'll be hard-pressed to pick a favorite story.
What if Death himself wanted to die? Can deliverance be found on a bloody battlefield? Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it? Will an ancient warrior be forever the caretaker of a house of mystery?

I hope you're practicing your Twitter Pitch. #IWSGPit You still have time to get it together. I'm working for a post on suggestions for closer to the July 27th, blastoff. Check out the rules at the IWSG website. Make sure you're following IWSG on Twitter.

If you're not already, you should be following IWSG on Facebook.  Lots happens in that very active group.

This month's question from IWSG: What is the weirdest or coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
Actually, the most enjoyable research I ever did was for some of my A to Z Challenge themes. I'm currently researching things about bone marrow and immunity deficiencies. I always put a little medical science in my science fiction. That is actually some clue to what my latest series is about. A future where most humans have compromised immune systems.

In a pretty cloudy week, I did receive a contract last week for the first book in that new series. That did slow down my word count as I dealt with cover art questions and a few other real life things.

Do you have a piece of work you're ready to pitch in July? Do you like doing research? Do you have a favorite between Twitter and Facebook?