Insecure Writers Support Group Welcomes You!

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh has had some great ideas in the past few years. If you've read his books, you know about some of them. Unless you've been writing on an island using squid ink the last two years, you've probably heard of his brainy idea called the Insecure Writers Support Group. Alex gave birth to this tiny genius and nursed it along on his blog. Like all healthy newborns, it grew and grew and grew, maturing until it was ready to move out on its own. Today the IWSG opens the doors of its new home to everyone interested in looking for support, offering support, or just having some interaction with other writers.

I'm thrilled to be part of the new blog. You can get all the details on the site and read the introduction penned, well typed, by our captain. What can you learn from the IWSG blog about writing? Everything. Anything. That would take thousands, millions maybe, of pages. What you will find are resources, links, lists of places to look for the answers you need.

You know the smartphone ads that say 'there's an app for that.' Well on the IWSG blog, we have a link for that.

Who are we? Alex J. Cavanaugh, Joy Campbell, Michele Wallace, Joylene Nowell Butler, L. Diane Wolfe, Lynda Young and me. We've all had a part, but I've been amazed at the expertise and hard work already contributed by my partners in this endeavor. We're all people like you, writers making our way through the complicated world of publishing. But none of us have to do it alone. Join us at the new blog. Follow us and put us on your favorites list so you can come back often.

Have you followed the new site yet? Do you know my partners in crime?

Living in the Wild

There's lots of talk about the Zombie apocalypse and if we're prepared to survive. My one son is a big fan of The Walking Dead so we have this discussion now and then. They're all pretty confident that with my background I'll make sure our family survives. It's been a few years since I won medals for archery, but we have fun talking about it.

This wild creature visited me on the
front porch.

On the other hand, I won't be visiting your blogs until late today or tomorrow because I'm going to visit my sister who really does live in the wilds. It's my first visit to her 'new' farmstead. She has an odd address with only a box and route number. I asked her for a road name to plug into GPS. She told me it doesn't work where she lives. People always end up in the middle of a farmer's field. We laughed and she sent me written directions. Yes, there's a gravel road or two interspersed between winding paved roads.

After reading through the directions I emailed her and told her to stay by the phone in case I became lost. Can't remember the last time I got lost but we've been using GPS for a while now. She assured me she would but my cell phone wouldn't find a signal during chunks of the trip. Oh, and forget TV.

I know I'll enjoy my visit with my sister, but it is uncomfortable knowing I'll be out of touch with the online world for most of two days. I won't check my email, update a facebook status or visit any blogs. I'm really going to be unplugged until I get close to home.

Don't forget this Wednesday is the Insecure Writers' Support Group. It's going to be a very exciting month for this wonderful group started by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Are you ready?

So share your experiences of being unplugged. Did you miss it or enjoy it? What special skills to you have to survive in a post apocalyptic world?

Family and Weather

I can think of lots of bad excuses not to write, but recently I've been plagued, blessed, with some good ones.

Central Pennsylvania has experienced a weeks long run of beautiful, terrific, sunny and dry weather. We're talking mid 70's during the day with little humidity and nights in the 40's to 50's. Perfect sleeping weather and day times that draw you outside and won't let you return to your desk.

Yesterday I went for my morning run and extended it by ten minutes just to be outside. Then I had to pick some tomatoes and peppers from my plants that won't stop giving. Then I had to check out the backyard where some friends are clearing out some deadfall. Oh, and carry some wood into the garage in case winter ever shows up. Then when I should have been writing, I just walked outside a few times. Sat on the deck and read for a little bit. It was lovely.

The red hills of Colorado

Two of my children are out of state at the moment. My daughter is at Boston University and my son is in Colorado Springs doing an internship. Both miles away and sorely missed. But only a phone call away. My daughter and I have spend so much time together since her birth. Did I mention she has five big brothers? We think the same thing at the same time so often... So while miles apart we have to reach out and tell each other all the little things in our day that we understand the other one must know right away. My son in Colorado has so many things going on with his work and his future employment plans. And we had to worry about him during the flooding. We have to speak to him at least once a day. Let me explain that they call me. I'm not one of those hovering parents. And when they call, I put the writing aside and talk for as long as they want. What parent wouldn't?

So these two wonderful things, beautiful weather and loving family, have slowed down my word count for the last few weeks. But I DON'T care. Priorities.

What wonderful things have interfered in your writing lately? Do you feel guilt when you set aside your writing for something else? How's your weather going into this first weekend of fall?

Trust the Experts

I've been getting a little anxious about the fantasy book, First Dragon, that has a release date in November. Though it's been on the coming soon page for a while, I haven't seen the cover art. I'm very excited about the book and wanted a cover that would give life to the characters in the book. I worried for nothing.

Two days ago the publisher sent be a choice of covers, nearly the same but with minor differences, and asked me which one I liked best. What a choice! They were both perfect, better than anything I imagined.

For my last romance book, my other publisher, my editor suggested a change of title. She explained the reasoning, and I gladly went with her idea. And the book sold great.

I'm busy writing the second book in The Morbunda Saga that will continue the epic fantasy introduced in First Dragon. I have a title but I'm not  completely sure of it. If my editor suggests a change, I'll be happy to agree. Because I'm learning to trust the people who are the experts.

When a writer puts her name on the bottom of that contract, she knows she's turning over a lot of control of her work to someone else. It's an easy decision for me with New Concepts Publishing. I've worked with them for a number of years and they've been in the business longer than most small presses. They were a leader in the ebook market way back in the beginning. That beautiful cover for First Dragon is going a long way in building my trust in that publishers also.

Have you had a publisher change a title of your work? Has a publisher ever given you a choice of cover art? How long before the release of your book did you receive your coverart?

SyFy & Fantasy Boom

One thing about being a full time writer is that I get my writing done during the day and have more time to catch some TV shows in the evening. I actually only have a few shows I try to catch every week but the new fall lineup has a lot of promising shows I'll have to check out. And the best part is that the small screen is taking a hint from the success of the large screen with a plethora of syfy and fantasy offerings.

I've always been a fan of this genre as evidenced by what I write so the past few years have been a bonanza of entertainment fun. On TV, we have some returning favorites of mine. Supernatural, Haven, Once Upon a Time and Game of Thrones will all be airing new episodes in the course of the next few months though we'll have to wait for GOT just like we do for the books. I'll be checking out some new shows over the next two months. Sleeping Hollow already started and I like it so far. I'm looking forward to Almost Human with Karl Urban, Dracula, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and The

Tomorrow People. I might check out Marvel's Agents of Shield.

Not only do I enjoy watching these type of shows but they inspire me. I appreciate the creativity of the show writers and find their unique visions of fantasy creatures and worlds. And the more popular they are the more I hope that popularity spills over into the book market. I have so many friends who read syfy and fantasy that I start to think it's the most popular genre out there. Here's an interesting blog, Five Scribes, about those stats from a year ago.

I do also write romance which gets a big share of the market but I'm still hoping syfy and fantasy grabs a little more.

Are there any particular shows you're looking forward to return or new TV you're going to sample this fall? Do you think the recent popularity of syfy and fantasy on the big and small screens helps book sales? Do you think the trend will continue?

Dust Off the Oldies

In case you've been living under a rock this week, Alex J. Cavanaugh's third book, CassaStorm took off in a mach speed launch. You probably saw him everywhere. Each blog he visited had a unique bit of info on Alex or his books. Lynda R. Young shared a very interesting post for Alex yesterday. He shared his story about how he never intended to write novels. Read how he pulled an old story he wrote out of a drawl, dusted it off can created his first novel. Read it here.

How many writers have stories and even complete novels sitting on a shelf or on a zip drive somewhere? Probably all of us. We left them behind because they weren't good enough or another project took us away from them. But when we created them, their characters or their plot caught our imagination.

Last year around this time, I had just signed a contract for my latest fantasy novel with Crescent Moon Press. I always clean up my writing area when I finish a project and there it was. My next project. An old manuscript, perhaps five years old, that I'd finished and set aside. I decided I would polish it, fix the weak points and see what I could do with it. I'd always like the main characters but for some reason I had set it aside.

Viola! The Marine's Queen, my bestselling novel ever, was picked up by my romance publisher. Perhaps it was the timing, genetic engineering, near the same time Star Trek Into Darkness came out. But if I hadn't dusted off that old story...

Do you have a neglected work of art waiting to be rediscovered? Did you read Alex's story over on Lynda's blog?

Why Join?

Recently I renewed and reactivated my memberships in the two writers' groups I've belonged to nearly since the start of my writing career.

Pennwriters is a state-wide organization of writers. Poets, journalists, nonfiction and fiction writers of all genres belong to this wonderful group of supportive and knowledgeable people. They run an affordable and educational conference every year, bringing in editors, agents and successful writers to lead workshops and answer any question a writer could have. I love the way they cater to writers at every point in their careers from beginners to multi-published.

RWA is the national organization for writers of romance. Unlike some other national organizations for select genres, RWA welcomes unpublished writers as well as the published. They also support local chapters of their organization, in my neck of the woods, CPRW. My local chapter is a wonderful, friendly group that meets once a month in a local library.

Drinking my wine from a Christmas goblet

Why spend the money to join writers' groups? I've found in my first few months as a full time writer that I'm quite happy to sit in my office for hours everyday and work. Alone with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Sure I share with other people online but I don't speak to anyone else about my writing. I need those writing groups for some personal contact with other writers. It's so refreshing to sit in a room with them, exchange ideas, ask questions, answer questions, share in successes and failure. I'm always inspired after a writer's meeting.

A large amount of networking goes on at meetings and conferences. We make plans to promote each other, do book signings together, and some writers find their critique partners there. Being a writer doesn't mean you have to lonely.

Do you belong to any writing groups? Are they worth the money to belong? What do you get out of the group?

Don't forget to visit Alex J. Cavanaugh this week to celebrate the release of CassaStorm.