IWSG: Little Things

Welcome to March's IWSG post. Thanks to Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting this wonderfully supportive group where we can all share, whine and encourage each other. If you haven't joined the IWSG Blog or the IWSG Facebook Group, give it a look. You can find the entire list of today's bloggers on this site page.

I just submitted the last book in my Recon Marines series to my publisher. I'm giving myself a little breathing room before diving into the next series. During this time I'll be preparing my posts for April's A to Z blogging challenge, doing some promo for my friends here and also doing bits of promo for my latest releases.

Promotion stresses me. I don't like the time it takes away from my writing. I'm not comfortable with blitzing Twitter or Facebook. (Won't mind if you like that page) I feel like I'm imposing on my friends when I ask them to promote for me. And I certainly don't like spending money to do it. I've been trying a different approach lately.

Little things. An appearance here and there. A mention now and then on Facebook or Twitter. Today, the very generous Michelle Howard is hosting me on her blog. I'll be talking about dragons to promote my latest fantasy release, First Dragon. Two weeks from now, I'll be somewhere else. Is it enough? Maybe not but I feel comfortable and less stressed. During this month, I'm trying to find one new thing to try each week. I have long lists of ways and places to promote.

My advice today is find your comfort zone. Take charge but don't stress yourself. Please visit Michelle Howard today. She's also running a giveaway during the week with an entry for all comments.

Does promotion stress you out? Any little thing you advise to do? Did you join IWSG blog or Facebook yet?

Busy March

I'm excited about March. I have so many different things scheduled for here and other places this month. And I have my April A to Z posts to get ready. So far all I have done are the outlines. My biggest advice to newbies is to do all your posts ahead of time. More on that later this month.

Don't forget to visit the IWSG blog today for a new post. If you haven't joined you should. And don't forget Wednesday is the monthly IWSG blog hop.

I'm also looking forward to getting Recon Marines III to my publisher this week. I'm feeling a little sad at ending the series but I usually feel like three or four books are enough. On the good news front, Recon Marines II, The Marine's Heiress, if finally available on Amazon Kindle and other ebook retailers.

One of the new shows I've enjoyed this season on TV is Almost Human. I watched it at first just because I like Karl Urban, but the science fiction aspects of the show kept me coming back each Monday. Two weeks ago, they introduced Chromes. Chromes are 'perfect' people as a result of genetic engineering. They have excellent health, intelligence and, of course, they're beautiful. How could I not love a show with that plot point when it so closely resembles some of the epigenetics ideas I use in my Recon Marine series?

Tomorrow, Brandon Sanderson's book, Words of Radiance, the second in The Stormlight Archive fantasy series. The first book was over a thousand pages long. Thanks to Amazon, I received my copy of the second book on Saturday and it's 1081 pages long. I can't wait to dive in. Sanderson is an incredibly prolific writer and everything I've read by him is good and has many unique ideas. His world creation is amazing. Sorry if I'm gushing a little but he is on the top of fantasy writers in my
opinion.

Are you familiar with Sanderson? Have you Almost Human? I've heard vicious rumors that it might be canceled. Did you visit IWSG yet? Do you have those posts for A to Z done yet?

So Long, February

I thought I would enjoy my first winter as a full time writer a little more than I did. Don't get me wrong, it was way better than teaching. But I lost count of how many times I shoveled snow this year. How many times has the weatherman said 'record lows?' So I'm glad to wave farewell to February though I hear another snow storm is coming our way on Monday.

There are many things to look forward to in March. I have some guest blogging spots coming up throughout the month. Some here and some where I'm visiting elsewhere. A couple of blog hops and of course I'll be preparing for A to Z challenge.


By this time next week, I'll have the third and final book in my Recon Marines series in the hands of my editor at New Concepts Publishing. Also good news, the second book, The Marine's Heiress is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Tomorrow is the monthly meeting of my local writers' group and that always gets me pumped up. I need that now as I'm gearing up to start my next series. I have three different ideas and I need to settle on one. It's always exciting to start out fresh.

Are you glad to see February end? Have plans going for March? Have you shoveled enough snow yet?

ReDo!

One of my fellow CPRW writers wrote a great article for our monthly newsletter. It has been almost two months since most people set their 2014 goals or maybe you dared to call yours resolutions. We know what happens to most of those.

Elizabeth Delafield suggests you don't through that list away. Redo it. Rework some dates. Revise your goals. The start of March, one sixth of the way through the year, maybe you have a better idea of how reachable those goals are.

Maybe your goal is no longer as important. Maybe you've already achieved it. Perhaps due to circumstances beyond your control, you can't meet your original time frame. Sometimes a third party interferes with your ability to meet your goal.

So take the time this weekend to adjust and reload. You can redo or rewrite those goals. They belong to you so take charge of them.

On another note, last week for the Ubuntu blogfest I wrote about Penn State's Thon that raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund that battles childhood cancers. They trended on Twitter all weekend so I hope you noticed that. Check out the pictures. One of their total raised for this year and the other one my son sent me at 2:00am Saturday from the floor. As you can see, they raised over 13.3 million this year alone.

So how are your goals going for this year? Need to reset a few? Didn't bother to set any?

Always Something

Today is a good day to remind myself that there is always something I can be doing to help my writing career. My pesky sore throat, probably the flu, is dragging me down physically and I don't feel even a little bit creative. But there are other things I can do besides sip hot tea and huddle under blankets.

Today Alex J. Cavanaugh is a guest at How to Write Shop. Lori Devoti runs a site that has so much information I can spend hours there reading and learning. Please visit and check it out. You'll want How to Write Shop as a resource.

Also today I've posted 10 Signs You Might Be a Professional Writer at the IWSG blog. I hope you'll stop by and visit. There are more resource links on this blog than you can visit in a week. But find the right page and narrow your search to what you need to help you along.

If I'm still not up to par I can troll through the giveaways on Goodreads and score some free books. Or I can read some of the great free books I have on my Kindle already. I don't need a lot of energy to read good stories.

I also want to thank Michelle Howard for her shout out for The Marine's Queen on her website. I wish I could bottle up her enthusiasm and use it for myself.

So today I'll probably be visiting blogs and generally taking it easy. Have you visited How to Write Shop? Did you check out your sign on the IWSG blog? Do you know Michelle?

The Old and the New

When I'm writing I almost always have a movie or TV show playing, mostly as background noise. I grew up in a large family and have six children myself so quiet is too strange for me. Anyway, yesterday I had Star Trek playing on the DVD. Stargate, the movie or the show, Firefly are also among my favorite noises. Since my WIP is the last book in my Recon Marines science fiction series, the futuristic nature of those flicks hit the right note.

One can't help but think of how fictional a lot of science fiction is or for how long it will be fiction. Smart phones and 4G tablets, genetic engineering ... how long until we have transporters and wormhole travel? If you're old enough to do so, compare the technology of fifteen or twenty years ago to now.

But as I sit here preparing this I'm battling a sore throat. At my right hand is a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon in. The same thing my mother would give me when I was a child and her mother before her. For lunch, I'll probably have some chicken noodle soup, also the traditional remedy for flu-like symptoms.

Fifty years from now, I expect my children will give their grandchildren hot tea or soup when they're sick. The treatment will be just as effective and never go out of fashion. The only difference is they might use a hover cycle or maybe one of those transporters to go get the soup.

Can you think of anything you would have thought of as science fiction years ago that is now available? Do you have family non-medicinal remedies for illnesses? Do you think a genetically-engineered guy like Kahn would develop a god complex or would he be a super efficient, duty-bound soldier like my Recon Marines?

Ubuntu Blogfest

Michelle Wallace over at Writer-In-Transit is celebrating her 3 year blog anniversary by hosting the Ubuntu Blog Hop. Here's the description in her own words.

What is ubuntu? "In Africa, there is a concept known as UBUNTU – the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others." – Nelson Mandela.
So in the spirit of ubuntu, I invite you to join me in celebrating my 3rd blogoversary!
Date – 18th to 21st February. I've allowed 4 days to make it easier for you guys, since some people only post once a week… save the date that coincides with your blogging schedule!

You can join on her blog. The details are there and it's easy with lots of options. This is perfect timing for me. Every year around this time a wonderful, heartwarming event takes place at Penn State University. Penn State has received some bad press(lots of it deserved) in the past few years, but none of that minimizes the wonders of the annual Penn State Dance Marathon to raise money for the Four Diamond Fund at the Hershey Medical Center.

The Four Diamonds Fund, started by a family that lost a child to cancer, has made its mission to conquer childhood cancer. The fund insures that no family will suffer financial difficulty while their child faces cancer. They pay EVERY cent of medical care not covered by insurance. They do other supportive things for the families and now fund research also. The Penn State Dance Marathon, lovingly called 'Thon' by everyone connected in any way to Penn State, has raised more than $101 million dollars for the Four Diamonds Fund.

If you speak to a Penn State alumni, one of their warmest memories of attending the sprawling university will be of Thon. So many students want to participate, they can't all fit on the floor. My youngest son, who is senior, is excited to have his first chance to be on the actual dance floor this year.

The students work all year to earn money. They come home on weekends and stand at major intersections to beg money from cars stopped at red lights. They canvas business for pledges. During the weekend long Thon, cancer patients and their families give inspirational talks, thanking the students. There are tears by the buckets. There are families who have lost their children to the dread disease, there to thank the students. This year one of them will be our very close friends who lost their son last spring. Nick had been a speaker at previous Thons.

The Penn State Thon reminds me of all that is good and compassionate in the world. Sometimes as we age, we worry about where the younger generations are going. If you ever witnessed Thon, you would find comfort in the sight of all those young people working so hard for no personal gain. This week at PSU it's FTK, for the kids.

Thanks, Michelle, for the perfect timing of this hop and congrats on your blog anniversary.