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Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Post #13

It's the first Wednesday of the month again. Time for another IWSG post.

I've been reading Stephen King's It. If there's one thing about King's writing that makes it brilliant, besides the action sequences, it's his grasp of character. After reading several of his books this year, I think I understand how he creates characters that stick with you. The question is. Can I do the same thing? I don't know if I have it in me. Nothing to do but try.

And, if you're a fantasy/scifi writer or reader, consider signing up for BookBreeze. You'll receive a weekly email with a free fantasy/scifi title along with links to other works of interest from the author. This isn't one of those pricey email blast promotions. I signed up as an author member a couple weeks ago. I can't say what the results are yet but I'm hoping to find some new readers. If you're interested in the author membership benefits, click here.

Until next month, keep writing.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 19 June #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

Received a couple 5-star reviews this week. WooHoo! Reviews are always pleasant surprises, especially if they are from someone you don't know.

Still slogging away at the novel. Even with an outline, details of the plot are changing as I go, which requires keeping notes for later revisions or making changes in earlier chapters now to keep it all in sync. I'm thinking about offering my email list subscribers a chance to beta read. How early in the writing is too early to beta read? Should I wait until the first draft is completed?

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here. Thanks to the very talented Lexa Cain for hosting this hop.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Post #12

It's the first Wednesday of the month again. Time for another IWSG post.

Been working on a novel lately. It was supposed to have been a short story but I quickly realized there was way too much story to cram into a short form. I have a detailed outline, which I'm modifying and adding a few scenes as I work through it. My challenge? I can't hold the whole story in my head all at once. I could do that with shorter works. I guess that's why I didn't need much of a written outline before. With this project, I have to consult the outline frequently so I can remember to make connections with previous chapters and upcoming chapters. Has anybody else experienced this when moving from short forms to long forms?

If you're a fantasy/scifi writer or reader, consider signing up for BookBreeze. You'll receive a weekly email with a free fantasy/scifi title along with links to other works of interest from the author. This isn't one of those pricey email blast promotions. I signed up as an author member a couple weeks ago. I can't say what the results are yet but I'm hoping to find some new readers. If you're interested in the author membership benefits, click here.

Until next month, keep writing.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Cover Reveal: A Wish Made of Glass

Today is the cover reveal for Ashlee Willis’s fairy tale novella A Wish Made of Glass. Ashlee appeared on the blog in August to talk about her fantasy novel The Word Changers. You can find the interview here.

What is A Wish Made of Glass about? Here’s the blurb:
Deep in a forest glade, the fey folk dance with Isidore, a young human child. Their kinship is the very fabric of her childhood. When her mother dies and her world darkens with sorrow, Isidore finds her belief in the fey folk wavering.

The love of her new step-sister, Blessing, proves an unexpected gift in her time of need. Yet even as their friendship blooms, Isidore begins to see that Blessing is everything she herself has always wanted to be, but is not. Jealousy grips Isidore as she watches this beautiful new sister steal away all she holds dear.

Driven to desperation, Isidore turns to the fey folk once more. She has only one wish to claim from them, one chance to make things right. But she must tread carefully. For wishes, like hearts, are easily broken. And obtaining the one thing she desires could mean destroying the one thing she truly needs.

Ashlee expects A Wish Made of Glass to be available this summer.

Ashlee Willis is the author of fantasy for young adults. She lives in the heart of Missouri with her husband and young son. While most of her days are balanced between writing, reading and being a stay-at-home mom, she also finds time to enjoy forest rambles, photography, and playing the piano.

You can find out more about Ashlee at these links:

Blog: http://ashleewillisauthor.wordpress.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7849640.Ashlee_Willis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleeWillisAuthor
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ashlee-Willis/e/B00KC96M6K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookishAshlee
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/BookishAshlee/

Thursday, May 14, 2015

New Release: Blood and Beauty and Other Weird Tales

Blood and Beauty and Other Weird Tales is currently available for pre-order. The release date is May 21. The six short stories collected here are on the darker side of fantasy and weirdness. If you're a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Greek mythology, or biblical-inspired fantasy, you might find something interesting here.

"Blood and Beauty" tells the tragic love story of a satyr and a dryad.

"Sutter’s Well" records the weird encounter between two boys and a Lovecraftian monster in Appalachia.

"Morphine and Chocolate" draws inspiration from the medieval poem Pearl as it follows a father's search for his missing daughter from one weird landscape to another.

"The Facts in the Case of M. Hussman" takes inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and records the horrific consequences of artificially extending life in a steampunk world.

"Shafts to Hell" returns to the Old West and takes the reader inside the mind of an insane miner.

"Good King David" combines the tales of Hamlet and Absalom in a Biblical fantasy world.

Store Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Friday, May 8, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 8 May #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

On the Altar is finally out (Amazon US). My goal this year is to put out five new titles. So that's one down. I'm almost done proofing Blood and Beauty and Other Weird Tales, a collection of previously published stories that I plan to release next week. That will be two titles done. Now I have to get busy and write the other three.

For my current work in progress I'm trying a new outlining technique that I learned from Libbie Hawker's Take Off Your Pants. I think it will help me avoid getting stuck, which is what usually trips me up. So far the writing is chugging along. Haven't been blogging much lately. Sorry. I've been too busy writing.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here. Thanks to the very talented Lexa Cain for hosting this hop.

Monday, April 27, 2015

New Release: On the Altar

Are you enjoying the plethora of posts in the A to Z Challenge? If you haven't already, click over to Untethered Realms to check out the cool book teaser/picture posts that we're doing for A to Z. Find more blogs on the A to Z Challenge site.

On the Altar is finally coming out after a brief delay. The big day is April 28th. On the Altar is currently available for pre-order.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Apple | Kobo | MuseItUp

Friday, April 17, 2015

Good Books to Read

Odd and the Frost GiantsRead anything notable lately? Here's a couple books for fans of Norse mythology and the apocalypse. (Can someone really be a fan of the apocalypse?)

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman is a charming tale about a young boy who teams up with Thor, Odin, and Loki to save Asgard from the frost giants. Odd's father, a master wood carver, dies while on a raid. An accident leaves Odd lame, forced to hobble about with a crutch. Odd's mother remarries, but no one has time for a crippled boy. One year, when spring is unusually late, Odd leaves home for his father's cabin in the wood and there comes across a strange trio of beasts: a bear, a one-eyed eagle, and a fox. Odd uses his wood chopping skills to save the bear. He later learns that the animals are Thor, Odin, and Loki. A frost giant has captured Asgard, turned the gods into animals, and exiled them. Eternally confident, Odd offers to help.

From the Amazon page:
In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back.

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever . . .

Someone just like Odd.
Gaiman tells the story of Odd and the Frost Giants with his usual mix of humor and pathos. Odd uses his wits and ingenuity to prove himself a more clever trickster than Loki. Highly recommended to fantasy readers and anyone with an interest in Norse mythology.

The Girl at the End of the World The Girl at the End of the World, by Richard Levesque is a very compelling story of a young girl's struggle to survive and find trust in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Scarlett is an average teenager with an average set of problems until she attends a baseball game with her father and his new wife and kids. A neighboring spectator dies horribly. Fungus-like stalks explode out of his face. The contagion kills within hours and spreads via airborne spores. Scarlett is certain she's going to die and locks herself in her room, hoping to shield her mother and sister from harm. Scarlett's world comes crashing down. Everyone is dying, except Scarlett. By some freak of genetics, she is immune. Scarlett gathers supplies and heads out into a very different world. There must be other survivors she reasons, but can she trust them?

From the Amazon page:
Her fight begins the day the world ends.

Scarlett Fisher is an average California teenager. She likes hanging out with her friends and talking on the phone. She does all right at school, and she's made the best of her parents' divorce. But in one way, she's special: on her fifteenth birthday, a fast-moving plague wipes out everyone she’s ever known, yet somehow it passes her by.

Her family dead, alone in a corpse-strewn metropolis, she has no choice but to survive. She needs food, shelter, a safe place to sleep. She discovers that an ordinary girl is capable of extraordinary things, and that she's more resilient than she imagined. Even so, she wishes more than anything that she could just find another survivor.

Unfortunately for Scarlett, not everyone who survived the plague is looking for companionship. And she’s about to find out just how difficult survival really is.
Levesque paints a terrifying picture of a world gone mad, where life and death survival is a constant concern and the rules of society no longer seem to apply. I don't read many apocalyptic stories so I can't say how this one compares to similar stories, but this compelling tale is hard to put down.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 10 April #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

I finished the galley edits for On the Altar—another novelette/novella and my first attempt at a contemporary thriller. I signed off on the cover last week so it's all in the hands of the publisher. The publisher's site lists April 21 as the release date. One of my goals for the year is to release five new titles so here's one down, four to go.

Here's the blurb:
When the president’s daughter, Helen, is abducted, special counsel Aaron Atreus offers his friend all the support he can. When the kidnapper demands Aaron’s daughter, Effie, deliver a ransom payment, the crisis becomes deeply personal for Aaron’s family. What’s the kidnapper’s game? Why insist on Effie? There’s no way Aaron will allow his only daughter to walk into such a dangerous situation.

Desperation puts friends at odds, and questions of duty and loyalty threaten to tear Aaron’s family apart. While the policy-makers fight among themselves, the kidnapper waits for the pieces in his sinister game to move into place.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here. Thanks to the very talented Lexa Cain for hosting this hop.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Post #11

It's the first Wednesday of the month again. Time for another IWSG post.

Oh no. It's April. That means a quarter of the year is gone and I haven't completed any new projects. I have worked on them. I'm making progress, but there not done. At least I'm keeping up with my reading challenge on Goodreads. Write faster. Write faster. It's not that simple. I continue to get bogged down in various stretches of narrative, struggling to figure out interesting ways to move the story forward while working in bits of action, thought, and description. I've been happy with the final result but not so much with the pace.

Taking part in the A to Z Challenge? This is my first year. I'm part of the team at Untethered Realms. You can check out my contributions for K and U as the month progresses.

Until next month, keep writing.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 27 March #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

Spring is coming, I think. We drove through some flurries last night coming home from the book store, but nothing stuck.

A friend introduced me to OverDrive a couple weeks ago. OverDrive is an app available for various devices that manages checking out ebooks and audiobooks from your library. I finally have a use for my smart phone, a reason to keep it charged.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here. Thanks to the very talented Lexa Cain for hosting this hop.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Good Books to Read

The BackworldsRead anything notable lately? I finished a few titles this month that might interest space opera and ghost story readers. The Backworlds by M. Pax is a fast-paced, short novel that introduces this space opera series. Betrayed by his father, his girlfriend, and community, Craze is cast into exile, forced to make his fortune on his own. His father has taught him a few skills, but Craze never intended to set up a business on another planet and he's going to have to earn a lot more chips before he can hope to buy what he needs to start his own tavern. A few chance encounters and a back alley deal with stolen goods seems to put the fortune he needs within reach. Well, maybe and maybe he'll be lucky to get out alive.

From the Amazon page:
In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendants to survive in a harsh universe. This is the first book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. Try it for free. A galactic adventure.

After the war with the Foreworlders, Backworlders scatter across the remaining planets. Competition is fierce, and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to improve his fortunes by destroying his son. He tells his only boy their moon isn’t big enough for them both and gives Craze a ticket for the next transport leaving the space dock.

Treated worse than a stranger, like the scuzzbag of the galaxy, Craze is forced to flee his home. Cut off from everyone he knows with little money and no knowledge of the worlds beyond his, he must find a way to forge a new life and make sure his father regrets this day.
I don't read much space opera so I can't compare it against other books in the genre but I enjoyed it and I suspect any lover of adventure tales will find something to like. The characters are varied and well-drawn, the planetary settings fascinating. The story of friendship and shady business dealings in some rather unsavory places drew me in and held my interest. The ending of course is a set up for the next adventure, but I'm looking forward to another ride with Craze and his new friends. He can probably trust them.

Broken VoicesAndrew Taylor's Broken Voices is ghost story of the slow-paced, pleasantly creepy variety. Set on the eve of World War I at a cathedral school during the Christmas holiday, it follows two boys who are forced to remain at the school during the break. Neither wants to be there and one of them may be facing expulsion, which leads him to follow a desperate and ill-fated attempt at redemption. The story moves slowly as it builds up the setting. If you like historical fiction about boarding schools in the early twentieth century, there's a lot for you to delve into here.

From the Amazon page:
Broken Voices is a 23,000-word novella, written especially for Kindle Singles. A chilling ghost story, it is set a hundred years ago in an East Anglian cathedral city. Two lonely schoolboys at the end of childhood are forced into an unwanted companionship. One of them is terrified of what the future holds.

Does music have its ghosts? Its victims? Something is stirring in the cathedral that both echoes an ancient tragedy and seems to offer a chance of future happiness. One thing is certain. Broken voices make false promises. And their lies may prove fatal.
Taylor does some great work at characterization with the two boys and the retired teacher living on the school grounds with whom the boys are staying. Even the teacher's cat has a distinct and prickly personality. The ghostly bits don't come to the fore until well-after the middle of the story. If you're looking for a quick scare, this isn't the story for you. What's interesting about this tale is the nature of the haunting. It's a piece of music that haunts the cathedral. People hear a measure or two but nothing more. It was composed centuries earlier to celebrate a new set of bells for the cathedral, but the new bells were never hung and the music never performed. There's a tragedy at the center of the music's story and tragedies sometimes repeat themselves.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 13 March #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

Some of the snow is melting. It's still cold here but at least the marrow in your bones doesn't freeze when you step outside.

Tonight is the JOT Writers Conference, which is becoming a biannual event. A time to connect with other writer friends in person and hear some great speakers. And it's all free. Well, you have to pay for refreshments, but the discussions and parking are free.

A couple weeks ago I started listening to the Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast. Lots of great interviews with writers and suggestions on tools and techniques. I learned about the Asana project management tool from RSP.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here. Thanks to the very talented Lexa Cain for hosting this hop.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Word of the Week: Welsh Rabbit

Buck Rarebit (Welsh Rarebit with an egg).
Ever eaten Welsh rabbit or Welsh rarebit? Being an ignorant Yank, I assumed it's rabbit prepared in some distinctly Welsh way, likely with lots of consonants. Then I came across the alternate spelling Welsh rarebit, consulted a dictionary, and discovered there's no rabbit in Welsh rabbit. Bunnies have nothing to fear. In its simplest form, Welsh rabbit is melted cheese—typically Cheddar—over toast. Ale, milk, or other spices are often mixed with the cheese. There are several variations with colorful names. When topped with a fried egg, the dish is called buck rabbit. Add turkey and bacon to the recipe to create a Kentucky hot brown. Combine tomato soup into the mix to get a blushing bunny.

The first recorded reference to Welsh rabbit is from 1725. It's origin is unknown. Welsh rarebit is a corruption that first appeared in 1785. The term Welsh derives from Old English Wielisc—meaning foreign, not Anglo-Saxon, not free—which comes from the Germanic words Wealh and Walh—meaning non-Germanic foreigner, including Celts, Britons, and Latin speakers. Rabbit came into usage in the late fourteenth century to designate the young of the coney. Rabbit derives from Middle English rabet, which likely comes from Old North French Walloon robett, a diminutive of Middle Dutch robbe. Beyond that, rabbit's origin is unknown.

Some legends have developed to explain the origins of Welsh rabbit. One posits that toasted cheese is an irresistible dish to Welshmen. A C Merie Talys, a book of jokes printed in 1526, tells that God became weary of the Welshmen in heaven and asked St. Peter to do something about it. St. Peter announced outside the gates that toasted cheese was available. All the Welshmen ran outside. St. Peter then locked them out. Another unsubstantiated legend claims that Welsh peasants, not allowed to eat rabbits caught on the estates of the nobility, substituted cheese for rabbit meat.

Feeling hungry? Toast some bread and melt some Cheddar. Invite a bunny to join you.

Photo Attribution: “Welsh rarebit with an egg,” by Jiel Beaumadier (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Post #10

It's the first Wednesday of the month again. Time for another IWSG post.

It's March. You wouldn't know it from peering out my window. Looks like more like February. A thick layer of snow covers the frozen ground and a stiff, cold wind is rattling the window. Even the ghosts are hunkered down before their imaginary fires. But my computer's calendar says it's the first Wednesday in March and computers don't lie.

I've been doing some free promotions lately in the hope of increasing my newsletter subscriptions. Well, the number has increased just not the avalanche that I was hoping (praying?) for. I know, these things take time, so I'll try to be patient. I'm also several chapters into a contemporary horror novel. I have the major plot points outlined, so it should be all systems go. So why do I feel more like a hobbit picking my way through Mirkwood, hoping I don't get stuck somewhere when I venture a bit off the path? Nothing to do but continue running/walking/crawling ahead and enjoying the journey no matter how insecure you may feel at the moment.

Until next month, keep writing.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 27 February #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

I've been running some free promotions, hoping to boost my visibility and get some more list subscribers. A couple of my titles have moved up the results lists for my keywords. That's something to celebrate, and I have some new list subscribers for which I am elated and very thankful. But progress is slow.

Received some positive reviews and ratings this week, always a cause for celebration.

I'm always looking for something to listen to while chopping vegetables or loading the dishwasher. (I'm easily bored.) If you like creepy radio plays, go to Youtube and search for “cbs radio mystery theater”. Hours of listening entertainment.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here. Thanks to the very talented Lexa Cain for hosting this hop.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Good Books to Read

The Savage Tales of Solomon KaneRead anything notable lately? I finished a couple titles this week that might interest fantasy and ghost story readers.

The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, by Robert E. Howard (of Conan fame), collects all the tales, poems, and fragments relating to the Puritan adventurer. If you've never encountered Solomon Kane, he's a landless wanderer who travels Europe and Africa, destroying evil wherever he finds it. His favorite weapons are a sword and a pair of pistols combined with incredible strength and quickness. He battles both human and supernatural foes.

From the Amazon page:
Collected in this volume, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Gary Gianni, are all of the stories and poems that make up the thrilling saga of the dour and deadly Puritan, Solomon Kane. Together they constitute a sprawling epic of weird fantasy adventure that stretches from sixteenth-century England to remote African jungles where no white man has set foot. Here are shudder-inducing tales of vengeful ghosts and bloodthirsty demons, of dark sorceries wielded by evil men and women, all opposed by a grim avenger armed with a fanatic’s faith and a warrior’s savage heart.

This edition also features exclusive story fragments, a biography of Howard by scholar Rusty Burke, and “In Memoriam,” H. P. Lovecraft’s moving tribute to his friend and fellow literary genius.
I very much enjoyed these stories. Kane is not as well developed as Conan. Whereas Conan had a clear purpose behind his actions, Kane happens on his adventures at random most of the time. He appears to believe he is carrying out God's will to stamp out evil wherever he finds it. In the last few stories, he's journeying across Africa because he feels some vague compulsion to do so. In "The Footfalls Within," for example, he comes across a dead girl from a slave caravan. Kane is opposed to slavery of any kind. He tracks down the especially cruel slavers and attacks them.

If you're familiar with the Conan cannon, you may find the Kane stories, especially the short tales, a bit slight and disappointing, but keep reading. The longer stories are the best ones and Kane improves with familiarity. My favorites are "The Moon of Skulls," in which Kane journeys deep into Africa to rescue a girl kidnapped from England, "The Blue Flame of Vengeance," in which Kane battles some pirates, "The Hills of the Dead," in which Kane fights an army of vampires, and "Wings in the Night," in which Kane confronts a flock of vicious harpies.

As with much literature from this period, there's an undercurrent of racism, especially against black Africans. Howard portrays them as less technologically developed but no less brave and worthy of fair treatment. For instance, whenever Kane comes across a city or monument in Africa, he always assumes some other race built it. However, Kane will risk his life to free a slave or avenge cruel treatment of any race.

Printer's Devil CourtPrinter's Devil Court is a short tale from Susan Hill (of The Woman in Black fame) and part of the Kindle Singles collection. Some medical students in London are attempting to capture the "spark of life" and use it to reanimate a corpse. In this case, they take the spark from an old man and introduce it into a young woman. As you might expect, the results are not quite what the students expected. The story is as much about the students as the ghost of the reanimated young woman.

From the Amazon page:
A mysterious manuscript lands on the desk of the step-son of the late Dr Hugh Meredith, a country doctor with a prosperous and peaceful practice in a small English town. From the written account he has left behind, however, we learn that Meredith was haunted by events that took place years before, during his training as a junior doctor near London’s Fleet Street, in a neighbourhood virtually unchanged since Dickens’s times.

Living then in rented digs, Meredith gets to know two other young medics, who have been carrying out audacious and terrifying research and experiments. Now they need the help of another who must be a doctor capable of total discretion and strong nerves.

‘Remember that what you know you can never un-know. If you are afraid, then...’

A gripping and suspenseful mystery by one of the masters of the genre…
Printer's Devil Court has much in common with Frankenstein but lacks the horror of that tale, nor is it as frightening as Hill's The Woman in Black or The Small Hand. Printer's Devil Court is pleasingly creepy rather than terrifying. If you like Hill's writing and story-telling style, you will likely get some warm fuzzies from Printer's Devil Court.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 20 February #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

Finally have a handle on my crazy cat lady novel. I can see the whole story unfolding, at least in my head. Now I have to put it on paper (or into bytes, not sure about the corresponding digital version of that expression). Still something to celebrate.

Our washing machine died earlier this week and a new one arrived today. WooHoo! But now there are huge piles of laundry to go through.

I'm also celebrating #SpecFicChat Friday. If you feel in the mood to tweet/discuss speculative fiction, look for #SpecFicChat on twitter. This month we're debating what makes fantasy believable. Brought to you once a month by the writers at Untethered Realms.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Writing Tools: Hanx Writer

Does anyone else out there like to do their first drafts with pen and paper? Writing a first draft hunched over a keyboard just doesn't work for me. Leaning back in a comfy chair or lounging on the couch is much more conducive to first drafting, at least for me. That's been my writing process for years, scratching out the first draft and then keying my sometimes indecipherable handwriting for the second draft. The problem is the keying stage takes a long, long time. It's a second draft so I start editing and there's always the sentence crammed into the margin that I can no longer read. That keying stage isn't conducive to high-speed production. I also can't tell how much I've written until after the keying stage.

Then along came the iPad mini. I love it as a reading device, but would it work as an input device for first drafts, allowing me to still use my favorite writing spots and avoid the dreaded keying stage? I searched for an editor and settled on Hanx Writer.

Hanx Writer is supposed to mimic a typewriter with the look of the keyboard and the sounds of an old manual, including a ding at the end of a line. It's nostalgic and kind of romantic to imagine pounding out your first draft on a virtual typewriter. Unlike an old-fashioned typewriter, Hanx Writer has a built-in spellchecker with suggestions and you can easily move the cursor around the document to delete or add text. It also gives you a word count. To get your hard work into your favorite word processor, simply email the document to yourself as a pdf.

The app comes in three flavors: Hanx Prime Select, Hanx 707, and Hanx Golden Touch. The basic version is free. Use it to give Hanx Writer a test drive. Unfortunately, the basic version only allows for one document. If you want to work on multiple projects, you will need to upgrade to either the 707 or Golden Touch (both available as in-app purchases). So far, I've only had one bad experience. I was trying to move my cursor around but it wouldn't display anywhere. I pressed the space bar and lost a half-page of text. Fortunately, that half page was fresh in my head so I rewrote it (probably better than the text I somehow deleted). That hasn't happened again. However, I recommend emailing the document to yourself on a regular basis so that you'll have a backup in case something dire happens with the app or to your iPad.

Happy typing.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 6 February #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

I'm thankful to be over the latest cold at last. I finally have some energy after a week of feeling as drained as a vampire victim. (I checked my neck and chest. No bite marks.) No big writing news this week. Still plugging away at the cat story.

I'm thankful for all the great internet friends I've found through writing and blogging. One of them nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thank you Katie L. Carroll. Katie is a YA novelist and editor extraordinaire. Check out Elixir Bound to sample her work.

The rules for accepting this award are as follows:
1. Thank the person who nominated you, and link to their blog.
2. Display the award logo.
3. Nominate at least 15 other blogs (more or less) and provide a link where they may be found.
4. Then, go to their blog, leave a comment to let them know they have been nominated, and where to find the information they need to accept (rules).
5. Mention three things that inspired you the most during the past few weeks.

So here are the three things that have inspired me recently:

1. One of my daughters went to another round of cleft clinic recently. It's an all day medical appointment in which a bunch of specialists check out your progress and make recommendations. She was born with a cleft lip and palette and has been through way too many surgeries for someone her age. She now has years of orthodontics in front of her. She continues to smile, as cheerful, sassy, and competitive as ever.

2. Snow. Yes, I know the weather seems really lame, but when I look across my backyard with it's foot of fresh white snow and the bright sunshine gleaming off that shimmering surface, I feel happy and energized.

3. Conan. I've been listening to Howard's Conan stories on LibriVox. There's a reason these stories have lasted and sound fresh no matter how many times I listen. Howard has created a vibrant world for his hero. Conan's character doesn't evolve much, but it can be comforting to find something consistent. Conan's indomitable spirit is inspiring in and of itself.

Here are my nominees:
1. M. Pax—mpaxauthor.com
2. Lyndon Perry—www.lyndonperrywriter.com
3. Tyrean Martinson—tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com
4. Christine Rains—christinerains-writer.blogspot.com
5. Catherine Stine—www.catherinestine.blogspot.com

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 23 January #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

Finished the editing process for On the Altar, my thriller novella scheduled for sometime this spring with MuseItUp Publishing. I returned the text and forms several days ahead of schedule. I'm sure my editor found that shocking.

Finished another chapter on my creepy, crazy cat lady project and outlined the next two chapters. Still don't know what to call it. Received some great reviews for Give Me Your Teeth this week, and last week the story was featured on Pretty Little Pages.

Do any of you like audio books? Want to give one a try? I have promo codes from Audible that will get you a free copy of Last Request. Leave a note in the comments or use the contact form if you're interested.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Word of the Week: Fast

“David and Emily from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield
by Frank Reynolds.
What comes to mind when you hear the word fast? Do you think of something locked firmly in place? The lock held fast on the treasure chest lid. A loyal friend? We became fast friends after enduring months of captivity in the pirate ship's hold. Someone pledging to not eat for some period? We fasted for days while aboard the pirate ship. Someone or something that moves quickly? The pirate sloop was incredibly fast when running before the wind. How can a word that describes something firmly fixed also describe something that moves quickly? Sounds like one of those contradictions that makes English so much fun but gives anyone trying to learn it fits.

Fast is used as an adjective, adverb, and verb. These three uses are also present in Old English: fæst (adjective), fæste (adverb), and fæstan (verb). All three uses had the sense of making or describing something as firm, secure, or fixed. The Old English words derive from Proto-Germanic *fastu-, *fasto, and *fasten. There are many cognates in other Germanic languages. The sense of abstaining from food is also present in Old English. The original meaning of holding firmly evolved to mean firm hold of oneself or firm control of one's appetites and urges. The verb fasten comes from the same root. Old English fæstnian—meaning to fix, make firm, or secure—derives from Proto-Germanic *fastinon. Now that all those meanings are firmly fixed and secure, how do we get to something that moves with great speed?

Sometime before 1200, fast added quickly and rapidly to it's litany of meanings. It's not certain when this addition occurred. It may have been one of the Old English meanings. One theory, citing the influence of Old Norse, attributes the new sense to associating the adverb fast (meaning firmly or vigorously) with run. He runs hard. He runs fast. Another theory, citing the influence of Old Danish, suggests that a fast runner is one who stays close to what he is chasing. The Old Danish adjective fast includes the meanings near to and almost. The Old Norse theory makes more sense to me but I like the imagery of the Old Danish one with the warrior fast on the heels of his fleeing foe.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things - 9 January #CTST

It's Friday and time to Celebrate The Small Things (or big things) that happened this week.

I'm celebrating a white new year. After all the snow from November, you would think a white Christmas was in the bag, or stocking, but Christmas this year was not white. Now I have lots of snow. It's snowing as I type. If only it wasn't so cold.

Big News! (So big I mentioned it in my January IWSG post, too.) The fabulous group of writers that is Untethered Realms invited me to join them. Actually I begged them to let me in.

Do any of you like audio books? Want to give one a try? I have promo codes from Audible that will get you a free copy of Last Request. Leave a note in the comments or use the contact form if you're interested.

Keep writing and keep hoping. What are you celebrating this week?

Want to join in the fun that is Celebrate The Small Things, sign up here.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Rereading Crime and Punishment

A view of Nevsky Prospekt in St Petersburg (1876)
by Petr Petrovich Vereshchagin.
Does the weather ever put you in the mood for certain books? Winter always makes me think I should be reading some Russian novel or something by Kafka. I've been thinking for years I should reread Crime and Punishment. I first read it long ago when I was in high school. (Yes, it was assigned reading.) Was it the setting or the characters that so grabbed my attention? I don't know, but it was one of those books that fueled my lifelong love of reading. A sense of place is important to me in a book. I like to be transported somewhere alien and lose myself in the sights and sounds of a foreign place. Dostoyevsky's St. Petersburg feels very real to me, like I've lived in those cramped garrets. And somehow Dostoyevsky makes me feel compassion for characters that I would find reprehensible if I ever met them.

So, I started rereading it a few days ago. It was as good as I remembered and I let the story envelop me, like curling up under warm blankets on a winter night, which is an odd metaphor because the story opens during the hottest part of the summer. Many readers don't like the long (we're talking page-length) sections of dialogue. It's a far cry from modern novels. I'm amazed that Dostoyevsky can pull it off. I like to think of that style not as characters talking in monologues but of multiple narrators, each one telling a story in their particular voice.

I'm taking a leisurely stroll through the novel as I read other books and stories on the side. I already know what's going to happen. I saw The Castle on my bookshelf the other day. I plan to dive into Kafka's world after I finish with Dostoyevsky's.

Anyone else planning to reread a favorite book or two this year?

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

IWSG and Writing Goals for 2015

It's the first Wednesday of the month again. Time for another IWSG post.

I had planned to do a goals post on January 1st. Yes, I didn't make it which is indicative of my writerly insecurities. 2014 wasn't a bad year. I published a couple good books (Last Request and Give Me Your Teeth); published a couple stories in anthologies; released an audio version of Last Request; surpassed my previous record for blog posts; and met my Goodreads reading goal. But, I didn't complete many stories. My pile of in-progress works continues to grow while my finished pile remains woefully small. Distractions? Lack of discipline? Am I like that rider in the painting stopping to look at the mermaids when he should be pressing forward on his journey? I don't know.

Siegfried and the Rhine Maidens
by Albert Pinkham Ryder.
There's not much to do but write every day. The plan this year is to publish five new titles and at least one of them has to be a novel. I also want to release another audio book and surpass my blog post count. I already have a novella with a publisher in the final stages of editing, so that leaves me with four books to finish. I feel better already.

And here's some more good news. I joined the fabulous group of specfic writers at Untethered Realms. I've been watching the group develop for the past year. If you're unfamiliar with their work, check out their boxed sets Fantasy Uprising: Untethered Realms Boxed Set and Twisted Earths (Elements of Untethered Realms Book 1). I'm overjoyed and surprised they let me join. (Too much nog in the holiday eggnog I suspect. Timing is everything.)

Did you set writing goals for 2015? Until next month, keep writing.