Wednesday Words 3.14

I realized this morning my birthday is in 3 months. In fact, my birthday falls on a Wednesday this year. That is the perfect date for my surprise to kick off. What better thing for my readers than a gift to you for my birthday, after all you do put up with me. LOL

Ergo, I announce, June 13th I will begin posting the full manuscript to my first novel in the “Dismember Killer” trilogy, one chapter per week, right here.

Let’s do that again in big flashy color.

announcement

You might have noticed… there’s no title for the first book.

Yeah, that’s a problem I’m working on. LOL

What are you working on?

Wednesday Words 3.7

Cold but sunny. Makes it nice to write at the family computer in the kitchen. Warm with great views.

I spent a little too much time look at retirement property today. Given we’re still like 20-25 years from that. Sometimes you just have to look around while you can.

I finished a short for an anthology this morning. It’s off to my critique partners before I polish and send it to Dan. He’s running another contest this spring, enter if you like, and then putting together other anthology. The Box Under the Bed was the last one and it’s still doing well on Amazon.

I’ve been writing daily again. It’s been very enjoyable. I forgot how much fun it can be to create a world and some people and then make bad things happen to them so they can grow and change and have good things. LOL.

I recently made my writing students do a little exercise. I said “I want you to describe a fight for me.” Then I asked how many thought physical altercation and how many thought verbal sparring. Then I made them write the opposite of what came to mind. LOL. It’s all about stretching away from what’s comfortable to grow as an artist and person. Sometimes just moving forward even when I can’t any traction is all I can manage in the realm of personal growth.

What about you? Where do you need to grow? What can you do to challenge yourself a little?

Fiendish Friday: I got nothing

No, seriously. Nothing came to me this week as funny and blog worthy. I’ve been keeping my head down working. If it isn’t new words, it’s blacksmithing old ones, or playing with the attachments to my dremmel to remove tile.  It’s hard for anything much to happen when you keep your head down and just work. And that was kind of the point.

Way too much drama lately.

Come on brain, come up with something rant worthy.

oooh, we’re in the middle of mock registration for the co-op and I offered three options for history class next year. I planned to teach the one that got the most votes. Wouldn’t you know it, the votes are even.

That was pitiful.

But on the other hand, I am at balance again.Three cheers for life being “boring.” Embrace the calm.

What’s the most calming thing you did this week?

Happy Little Surprise

I got interviewed again.

This time over at Book Shelf Battler.

A little snippet….

QUESTION 1 – T.A., welcome. I could be wrong, but you seem like a serious person, so I thank you for lowering yourself enough to be interviewed on a blog run by a man who swears he talks to aliens. I’m telling you, hang on a year or two and you’ll be interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, who only acts like he is a space alien.

History. You might have told me but I don’t remember because I’m not a good historian, but I’m wondering how you got into writing historic fiction. Give the history of your historic obsession to my 3.5 readers, or to my 2.5 readers, since you are a reader.

ANSWER: One day the window got left window open and I crawled out on to the ledge. Uncle Bob tried to chase me back in but I was scared, who wouldn’t be? Uncle Bob is creepy, and so I jumped up on the roof. Bob kept coming though. He got out this weird metal contraption and bam it slammed into the edge of the roof. So I ran to the other side. But the shingles were loose and as I tried to jump to the nearby oak I slipped. And fell. 3 stories. Into the road. Amazon was making a Prime delivery and wouldn’t you know it, I got hit by a load of….wait what was the question?

Oh, how I came to be a historical writer, yeah. I fell into it. What else do you do with a degree in history and no chance to teach because your hubs got transferred and you have no connections in the local community college scene.? LOL.

 

Read the whole thing if you’re inclined.

Wednesday Words 2.14

It’s apparently Valentine’s Day. I got my first clue it was coming when I took a girlfriend to my favorite Lularoe dealer this past Sunday. She gave away Valentine’s leggings with every purchase.

Then this morning my father in law calls me.

“I just wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. It’s so nice to hear your voice.”

I do have an awesome phone voice.

“And I wanted you to know if (insert hubs name here) doesn’t do anything for Valentine’s Day, it’s not his fault. I never did anything for his mom when he was growing up.”

That’s stinkin’ cute.

We don’t actually do Valentine’s Day in my house. Our dating anniversary was like five days before Valentine’s so it seemed pointless. And then once we got married…whatever.

I actually texted my hubs to warn him I already bought flowers while getting groceries so not to get guilted into buying any on the way home from work. ROFL

The kiddo went to school today. Thank god. Wednesday is the one day a week he goes to class for 6 hours without me. But he hadn’t been since before Thanksgiving, long story about that, he went today. I have time to write and yoga, so I’m going to get on that.

PS. Yes, I am a Lularoe devotee. I like to look like I made an effort while feeling like I am wearing pajamas. Lula fits the bill, perfectly.

 

Fiendish Friday: Holy Crud

I like routines. I think you’ve caught that if you ever read my blog at all. I like routines. I also like coffee. In fact, me without coffee is not someone you want to meet in a back alley, or anywhere else. LOL.

I get up, I make coffee, I do a little work for the coop, I read my email, I read posts from the blogs I follow that are already up (I get up fairly early since my ten day run on east coast time, I am trying NOT to adjust back), then I read my daily email from Writer Unboxed. Usually this all takes about half an hour and then I am ready to do real work.

Some days the post from WU gets deleted before I am a paragraph in. Some days, I read half of it before thinking “Oh this is a Donald Maass post.” And some days I finish reading only to sit in my chair dumbfounded. Today was the latter.

One line blew my mind.

Whether they’re changed forever, at this point, is mostly luck; they already made the wrong decision.

Fucccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkk.

The author, Annie Neugebauer,  described what her husband called summit fever. The phenomena that occurs when climbers see the summit in their grasp and toss their carefully crafted plan into the wind, to go for it. It may all work out just fine or they may die.

Then she tied it to the life of a writer. You go read her post if you like, it’s quite good and not at all long, which increases the punch, in my opinion.

But there I sat in my chair, almost empty cup of luke warm coffee clutched in both hands, wondering, did I already make the wrong decision? Am I so focused on the summit, that I am following everyone’s advice even when my instincts tell me no?

I think I am. Damn. Time for a snack break and an evaluation of the plan.

Wednesday Words 2.7

Greetings and Salutations, long lost writing and reading friends.

I went on vacation. Two weeks no internet. Yup it can be done. It really can. Yes, I vaguely missed you all but come on – sun, sea, deck boys with trays of delicious alcoholic beverages…. If the hubs didn’t have that pesky job problem, I wouldn’t have come home.

Sigh

But I’m back. The PacNW is slowly sucking my tan out of me with cold and rain. I have an appt for a pedicure later today and I’m not sure why I bother. My toes won;t be seeing the light of day let alone sun for the next 4 months minimum. LOL

Been reading a lot lately. Including some betas. I think, maybe, I might like fantasy when it’s done well in a modern (ish) setting. ROFL

So where am I at writing wise?

I decided to pen a couple of short stories in an attempt to get into a couple more anthologies this year. We’ll see how that goes.

I have a really momentous decision that is rolling around in the back of my head. But like those donate a quarter machines at the zoo, it just keeps rolling round and round, it’s own velocity keeping it from sliding down the hole. Maybe next time I’ll be ready to share.

How about you? What are you doing with those 50K words you spit out last November? Is your current work in progress hibernating in the winter cold or playing in the snow? Inquiring minds want to know…

 

Wednesday Words 1.10

How do you get reviews?

I’ve done everything I have heard suggested before.

I have a link in the back of the book.

I offer a short story, that explains something alluded to in the story, if you review.

I used paid marketing, the only one I could get so far because I don’t have enough reviews, to supply a free day, hoping for reviews. Not a single one.

I bothered every human I know who has read my book to leave a review. (5 did, thank you, you know how wonderful you are and how much this helps me)

I have submitted for “profession review.” (Although I would love to hear more pro sites that are legit from people who have used them…)

Please, Please, tell me how you get reviews if you’re an author? And if you’re a reader, what gets you to review a book?

 

Fiendish Friday: Virgin No More

It’s happened ladies and gentlemen my rejection cherry has been popped and vastly sooner than I anticipated hearing back from the publisher.

What did she say?

Despite the engaging read, I am sorry to say that I have to pass on your series. The majority of readers in this category are looking for a murder that can be solved within the space of one book, and I don’t know that it would be possible for us to find commercial success by breaking out of that formula and requiring the reader to invest in three books to discover the serial killer.

Ok. Sure.

Except when I pitched the series to her, I made it clear that despite murders being solved in books one and two, the Dismember Killer would not be caught until book 3 and she still asked to see the manuscript of book 1.

Reading between the lines?

The book sucks and she wanted to be kind or maybe avoid any drama from would be authors. LOL.

Which brings me back to that same old grind. Maybe the reason all the things I do for marketing don’t work for me when they work for other people is I’m just not starting with a good book.

Sigh.

 

 

Wednesday Words 1.3

It’s a new year of Wednesday Words. I want to try to be more regular about this but I suspect it will still be hit and miss.

I wrestled a lot last year about whether I have the right temperament for the battle it takes to get any traction in the publishing world. I’m caught in the standard catch 22. I need more reviews to get more marketing but I need more marketing to get more readers to get more reviews.

So I’m giving it one more year. I’m shelving the debate about my emotional state and going full out. Whatever ads and marketing I can secure, three more novels, and probably one anthology, if Dan wants.

I was asked to post more of my writing. I can do that. I will do that. Soon.

What writing goals do you have for yourself this year?