Friday Five for June 28, 2013

1. A frustrating week for managing to get time to revise. Oh, did I mention I finished THE GHOST? Yay! Well, the first and second drafts are done. I've been worried about it, but one of my CPs has declared it's her favorite in the series. But yes, revisions. Our power has gone out twice now with all the summer storms passing through. I lost all of Wednesday. And there are more storms in the forecast for the next seven days. Yikes!

2. Even with that frustration, I had a wonderful surprise yesterday morning. THE MARQUIS received a 4.5 star review from Night Owl Reviews. It's now one of their Top Picks! If you haven't picked it up already, it's free for all e-readers.

3. I was inspired to write a new story by my visit to the dentist Wednesday. I had a crown fitted. The last of my silver fillings is gone. I thought about how the dentist and the hygienists must hear all sorts of weird teeth stories. But what if it was a dentist office for supernatural beings? Yup, a supernatural dentist. Could be really fun!

4. I've been enjoying a lot of outdoor time this week. Between storms, my son and I have been out in the pool, at the park, and in the woods. We put on tons of sunscreen, but thankfully he tans better than me. He's getting a few freckles, but not as many as have erupted on my arms. I don't brown, I stay red. Red and freckled like I'm some weird lobster mommy!

5. Next week I'm still sticking with my regular blogging schedule even with Canada Day and Independence Day. Join me for a great post by a special guest on Monday and July's IWSG on Wednesday. Have a fantastic weekend! Relax and kick back.

Liebster Award

The lovely and most generous Tara Tyler has passed on this award to me. Thank you so much!

I'm counting the days until her new book POP TRAVEL comes out.

I must answer 11 questions. Here we go!

1. What's your nickname? (make one up if you don't have one) C. Yes, I know, so boring. It's simple to write C online. Many of my online friends just call me C, even when I've chatted to them on the phone.

2. What genre do you read most? Paranormal romance. That wasn't a surprise, was it?!

 

3. What celebrity would you love to meet? Joss Whedon.
 

4. What is your favorite age? Does this mean for me or in general? For me, I'm happy with my age right now. I get happier the older I get. I'd never want to be a teen or young adult again.
 

5. Facebook or Twitter? Twitter. Only because I'm much more efficient with Twitter. FB can be distracting.
 

6. What awesome thing will you do when your book is published? Arrange a book tour for as far as my budget will allow. I love to travel.
 

7. What book would you like to see turned into a movie? The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.
 

8. Where were you born? In a hospital in southern Ontario.
 

9. Name a place you'd like to visit some day. England.
 

10. Are you a Summer, Winter, Fall, or Spring? Fall.
 

11. Any regrets? Yes. I try not to hang on to regrets, but sometimes I get in a self pitying mood.

 

Now 11 questions from me:

1. What is the last dream you remember?

2. What shares a bed with you at night? (other than a person!)

3. Kindle, Nook, or print?

4. Pen or pencil?

5. What planet or moon in our solar system would you live on if you could?

6. What are you wearing on your feet right now?

7. What's your favorite thing to do while procrastinating about writing?

8. Do you use coupons when shopping?

9. The world ends with an asteroid strike, alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse?

10. What title would you give to a story written about all the things in the last question?

11. Socks with sandals: yuck or cool?

I know the rules for the award state I must name some worthy bloggers and pass it on, but I'm short on time these days. Anyone who comments is deserving of this award. Please take it if you wish and display it, because you are awesome!

Wicked Wednesday - romance to erotica

I'm adding a little more wicked to this Wednesday! I've been considering querying a manuscript that's not my usual genre. Most of my novels are paranormal romance, but I have two that I consider paranormal erotica. Even considering doing this, I'm presented with several things I need to think about.

I have branded myself as a paranormal romance writer, but I do write in other genres. I have several short stories published varying from sci-fi to horror to western. I like the challenge of writing something out of my comfort zone. Paranormal erotica is only one step away from what I usually write, but in some people's eyes, it's a very big step.

Will I lose credibility? I hope with most of my readers, they will stand by me even if they aren't interested in that genre. I've heard people say negative things about erotica stories. I still get some guff about being a romance writer. I can imagine what would happen if I published erotica. Yet I've read some excellent erotica stories. There are some real gems if you dig around enough to find them. Story has been and will always be most important to me. The sizzling sex is just a bonus!

I've read that one of the best ways to become successful as a writer is to branch out into other genres. Yet I've also heard a few horrible backlash stories. I have plenty of paranormal romance manuscripts to work with if I were to stick with that genre alone, but even if I don't branch out now, I would like to do so in the not too distant future. Yet I might go the sci-fi or fantasy route too. Is this the right time in my career to do so?

I have no answers to any of my questions. I won't know until I try. If only my crystal ball really worked!

What's your opinion of erotica? Is it a genre you'd ever try? 

Teaser Tuesday with The Graveyard Book

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I thought I read this book before, but I was wrong. I found a hardback copy for a buck and I had to pick it up. I read a few pages and didn't remember the story at all. I'm so happy I found it. It's an awesome story. But then again, I don't expect anything less from Neil Gaiman.

Here's your teaser:
"You know, I heard rumors, while I was away," said Silas, "that some weeks ago that you both went somewhat further afield than I would have been able to follow. Normally, I would advice caution, but, unlike some, the ghoul-folk have short memories." (page 98)

The Thrill of it All Blogfest

The fabulous Heather M. Gardner and Tara Tyler are our hosts for this awesome blogfest. They're celebrating their own publishing thrills. Heather with MCGUIRE'S CORNER and Tara with POP TRAVEL. Congratulations, ladies! I'm eager to read both books.

The rules are simple: on June 24th, share a big thrill. It can be real or fiction. Just keep it to a paragraph or two. Tara and Heather will be judging the posts, and they're offering great prizes.

1) An e-copy of MCGUIRE'S CORNER.
2) An ARC of POP TRAVEL.
3) A $20 Amazon GC.
4) A banner or caricature by Tara.

Make sure to sign up on the linky list and read everyone's big thrills!

Now onto my big thrill!

It was only a buck. The story was about alien pet care. A silly thing called "Pretty Bows." It was a drabble. Just 100 words. I wasted hours on it. But it was the first piece I ever got published.

I jumped for joy. Ran around the apartment. I was on cloud nine for days. Something I wrote was published. I was afraid to submit anything for years. Yet this one little acceptance was the biggest thrill in my writing career.

I still have that one dollar. (They paid in cash!) It's in a frame beside my writing desk. Never has a buck been worth so much to me.

Friday Five for June 21, 2013

1. Check out YA fantasy author Graeme Ing's blog later this evening for an interview with me. He's featuring each of the Untethered Realms authors over the next few months. Don't miss out on all the news and teasers about our upcoming books.

2. Some of you know that I'm a vivid dreamer. I remember at least one dream every night. Much of my inspiration comes from them. This week, I had one of my dreams analyzed on Sculpted Dreams. I'm case #4. There's a monster, an immortal, and a great discovery. Stop on by and let me know what you think it means!

3. I'm so close to finishing THE GHOST. All my best lines have been coming near the end. I'm so happy with the way it's going. I only have one major worry: is it good enough to end the series? I'll talk more about this in July IWSG post. The end of the series. I'm a little stunned about that!

4. It's been a long week. Lots going on outside the house. My little guy has a huge poison ivy rash. Poor boy. It just keeps spreading. He scratches at it in his sleep. Do you have any secrets how to help with a poison ivy rash? We've got Cortizone to take away the itch, but I don't know how well that's working.

5. My local writer's group meets tomorrow. They really liked my story last month, and I submitted it to Daily Science Fiction. I was short-listed, but this week, I got the standard rejection email. I bought some ice cream, drowned my sorrows in creamy delight, and submitted the story to another press. We've just got to keep trying.

Have a great weekend!

Men of Foxwick is a must read!

Men of Foxwick by Cherie Reich is now available! This fantasy short story collection features five men from the Kingdom of Foxwick.

A blind teen seeks a place in the kingdom. A dragon seer journeys to Wintermill to spy on the queen. A sword master’s worst fear comes true when he fails to protect the royal family. A king falls in love with an herb witch, but will she feel the same way? A hunter will rise to the challenge to hunt down a man-eating monster. 

Short stories in this collection: Blind Scribe, Dragon Spy, Sword Master, Courting Magic, and Monster Hunter

To purchase: Amazon / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Kobo / Nook

Click here to add on Goodreads.

About the Author: A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer, freelance editor, book blogger, and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her books include the horror series Nightmare, a space fantasy trilogy titled Gravity, and the fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms.

Her debut YA Epic Fantasy novel Reborn, book one in The Fate Challenges, will be released on May 23, 2014.

For more information, please visit Cherie’s website and blog.

Also, Cherie has a special announcement for her email newsletter subscribers. Click here to sign up for her updates and receive a coupon for a free copy of Women of Foxwick.

Wicked Wednesday - encouraging reviews

This Wicked Wednesday post isn't just for paranormal romance writers. It's for every writer. I would love to hear your opinions and ideas on this topic. Let's brainstorm together.

Reviews are vital to getting your books noticed. I read a lot of frustrations and cries for help in terms of reviews. How do I get reviews? How do I get more than just my friends and family to review my work? How do I do it without having to pay people?

The advice I've been reading hasn't helped me very much. Here are a few things I do to try to encourage readers to write reviews:

- Give your book away for free. People love free stuff. THE MARQUIS and FEARLESS are available for free. Less than one percent of readers who downloaded the books have reviewed them.
- Send your books to review sites. I've sent mine to several review sites. They get a lot of submissions. Maybe they'll get to yours, but most likely they won't.
- Ask your blog followers and have giveaways. Done and done.
- Review other writers' books. Yes! I try to write a paragraph or two, but if I don't have time, I at least rate it and say a couple of things.

I've read many articles that say reviews are the one thing out of an author's control. For the most part, I agree with it, but there has to be a way to encourage more of them.

What do you do to encourage readers to review your books? Do you think there's anything we can do to get more reviews?

Teaser Tuesday with Dead Things

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I picked this one up randomly from the library. I was craving some dark urban fantasy with a noir edge. So far, so good. It's a bit like the Dresden Files, but Eric isn't quite as funny and he's a necromancer. DEAD THINGS by Stephen Blackmoore is gritty and unique. Voodoo and Aztec Death gods wandering around. Very cool.

Here's your teaser:
"You want to hire me."
"No," she says. "I want to own you." (page 68)

W4WS Event for June 2013 and Taking Time cover reveal

Welcome to the June 2013 W4WS event! I'm honored to co-host this event with three talented writers, Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Stephen Tremp.  The mission of this group is simple: we have a spotlighted author(s) that we strive to help bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people, increase the sales of their book(s), drive new traffic to their blogs and increase followers, and create verbal and viral buzz.

We've made this simple and fast. It's as easy as a tweet or a RT, and sharing a status on Facebook. Go to the writer's blog and copy a tweet or RT from the posts with the tag #W4WS. The W4WS Facebook page will have all the updates and links for you.

To join the W4WS event, click here for the linky list. It will only take a minute of your time, and you'll have talented writers take a step closer to their dreams. 

This month we're spotlighting the fabulous paranormal author Marta Szemik. Check her out on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook. She has an awesome series called the Two Halves series. You can get the first book, MARKED for FREE on Amazon.

And now onto Ellie Garratt's fantastic new cover!

Book Blurb

Science fiction stories of time and space...

The future of humanity must be decided in Next Phase. Winning the Planetary Lottery is not as lucky as it first seems in Schrodinger's Gamble. An apocalypse and its aftermath threaten to tear one couple apart in Daiker's Children. In Life As I Know It a reclusive man finds both his heart and home invaded during an alien harvest. In Taking Time a demon seeking shelter on a distant planet finds himself facing a very different kind of demon, after answering a frontier settlement's plea for help. Stories range from flash fiction to novelette in length.

Publication date: 15th July 2013

About The Author

A life-long addiction to reading science fiction and horror, meant writing was the logical outlet for Ellie Garratt’s passions. She is a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online. Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre was published in March 2013 and contains nine previously published stories. Her first nine-part science fiction serial will start in September 2013.

Author Links: Website | Amazon | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Friday Five for June 14, 2013

1. My WIP is coming along. Not quite as fast as I need it to, but it's been a busy week. Maybe I can convince my husband to take our boy out for a few hours so I can write. If I get five good days in a row, I can finish it. I'm a fast writer if I have the time and inspiration.

2. I've been catching up on some reading on my Kindle this week too. It's nice the boy is loving his new bigger pool and is happy to splash around while I sit in the shade reading. I've a lot of indie books on the Kindle. Only a few of them have more than a couple of reviews. I make sure to review books after I read them now, but I wonder how to get people motivated to write more reviews. (Oh! I shall write a post about that!)

3. I had a wonderful visit with my family last week in Canada. It was a little rough not sleeping in my own bed and sharing a room with a toddler that talks very loudly in his sleep. We stopped at a hotel with a water park on our way back home thinking the boy would love it, but nope. My husband enjoyed it far more than any of us! My son loves the water. The spouts, slides, and splashing. These hotel water parks are geared more to older kids, though. He doesn't like to get water in his face nor did he like all the noise. If anyone wants to start a business, here's an idea for you: build a hotel for families with toddlers with toddler-friendly attractions. There are only a few places made for the little kids. Sometimes it's difficult to find things to do for a special trip.

4. I took my son to a local event called Touch A Truck on Wednesday. It gives kids a chance to explore all different sorts of trucks like fire engines, ambulances, tow trucks, etc. I like the idea, but there were long lines in near record-breaking heat. We didn't stay too long. My boy's favorite thing was the helicopter. My favorite thing he said was when he walked into the local library's Bookmobile: "This looks like our house!" Yes, we do have a lot of books!

5. Don't forget that Monday is the June W4WS event! Help your fellow writers with just a tweet. It's fast and easy.

Have a great weekend!

ATONE released!

Caine Fordham knows the danger all too well.

As the Kill Circuit’s top lady-killer, business is good. Yet Caine knows the life of an assassin isn’t meant to last forever, just as love is impossible for him. Who could love a man with poison lacing his veins and a kiss that kills?

When Caine decides to take one last job, deal out one last kiss, he discovers there’s more to life than death, and more to love than pain.

You can purchase ATONE on Amazon! 

 

Author bio: Born and raised in Little Rock, AR, Angela now calls Central Texas home.

Reading and writing have been lifelong passions. It was around the time she gave birth to her forever-love, nicknamed Chipmunk, that she really took writing seriously. After all, how could she teach her child to follow her dreams if she hadn't tried herself?

As a YA fantasy/sci-fi reader and author, she favors the magical, mysterious, the darker side of life...even harbors a secret fright for things that go bump in the night.

FRAILTIES OF THE BOND is the first in a series of novellas and short stories introducing heroes and heroines of the secret organization, NEO – Network of Extraordinaires and Otherwordlies. ATONE is the second in this series.

Here's where to find Angela: 

Blog * Goodreads * Twitter * Amazon * Partners in ParanormYA * PIP Facebook

Reconnaisance Book Tour - Review and giveaway

Inkspell Publishing

Author: Aubrie Dionne

Genre: YA Sci-fi Romance
Length: Super Novel

ISBN: (Print) 978-1-939590-06-0

                                   ISBN: (ebook) 978-1-939590-05-3

Blurb: 
Nova Williams has lost her one shot at Lieutenant hood and at love. Lieutenant Crophaven has promoted her rival, Andromeda, all because her lifemate, Sirius, sacrificed their mission to win back Andromeda’s love.

While sneaking out to prove Andromeda is a fake, Nova finds an alien ship hovering over their colony. Lieutenant Crophaven assigns her to a reconnaissance mission, giving her a second chance to redeem herself. Sirius must fly her and a research team to the vessel to decide if they are a threat. Thrown together with the lifemate that betrayed her, she battles with her own jealousy while her team battles for their lives.

Can she forgive Sirius in order to save her team and warn her colony?

My review:
Striving to be better than her genes, Nova Williams pushes herself past her limits. She missed out on a grand promotion because her rival stole her glory and Sirius, the man she loves. Yet when an alien ship comes to their new planet, Nova heads a team to find out if the visitors are peaceful or not. This is her one chance to make everything right, and she isn't going to mess it up. Sirius is assigned to be her pilot, and she must learn to work with him no matter her feelings. Trapped on the strange ship, Nova is forced to work closely with Sirius as they attempt to save the rest of their team and battle beings that have walked out of nightmares. Not only is their survival at stake, but her heart and redemption.

This is another superbly written sci-fi romance by Aubrie Dionne. We start off just after the previous book in the series left us. This new world recently colonized by the people on the ship is rich and gorgeous. It's called Paradise 21 for a reason, and Aubrie gives us enough colorful details to enchant us. After a tantalizing taste of the planet, the reader is thrown into a more frightening and strange place within the alien ship. It's dark and terrifying, and also fascinating. I won't give away the surprise of what the aliens are exactly like, but from the cover you can guess, and you'll never look at a spider the same way again.

The characters are what drives this story. Nova is a strong and driven young woman. I admired her ambition and sympathized with her heartache. Sirius is smart, daring, and hot. He's in love with another woman. I loved the conflict between Nova and Sirius, and I wondered if it could be resolved. Aubrie is a master of surprises! This is a romance like none other.

The first book in this series, COLONIZATION, was my favorite one written by Aubrie. By giving me the creepy crawlies and taking hold of my heart, RECONNAISSANCE has taken that spot.

Purchase links: Amazon and B&N

Author bio: Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Inkspell Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. Her very first contemporary romance, Playing the Maestro, recently came out with Entangled Publishing in Feb. She recently signed with Spencer Hill Press for her YA sci fi novel titled: Frozen: Part One of The Timesurfers, which will release summer 2014. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras.

Follow Aubrie at: Website * Blog * Twitter

Now on to the fabulous giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm having Tuesday Tea with Mistress Snark

I'm being brave today.

I've accepted an invitation to have tea with Mistress Snark. *gulps*

I'm going in prepared. I've written a list of tips to help me survive. Hm, I can't bring in a piece of paper. That's too obvious. I can't be rude to the kind hostess. But perhaps if I write it on my palm. Yes, that will work!

Please join me over at Laura Eno's blog.

Mistress Snark is expecting you.

Why I Write Short Stories - guest post by Milo James Fowler

A detective with a price on his head... An invisible criminal with nothing to lose.
Check out Milo James Fowler's newest release, Immaterial Evidence.


Why I Write Short Stories

by Milo James Fowler

We all want to be novelists, right? Have an agent, sign a book deal with a big-time publishing house, see our work on the shelf at Wal-Mart. The American (Writer's) Dream.

But writing a novel takes time. And revising it takes a whole lot more. We need something along the way to boost our creative energy and remind us why we started writing that 300-page tome in the first place: to share our work with readers.

That's why I started writing and submitting short stories for publication three years ago. No agent is necessary, you can build your audience and compile publication credits, and you'll get paid for your work.

Some writers think they can't do both short and long fiction, that their stories are too big. But many of my favorite authors have done both: Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Allen Poe, and Alastair Reynolds. If they can do it, so can we.

There are so many short fiction venues available: monthly and quarterly magazines, yearly print anthologies, online 'zines, and eReader publications. Writing and selling short stories is an excellent way to build a portfolio of your published work. Once you have a few credits under your belt, you'll have proof that you can sell your work to paying markets. Pay varies widely from token to pro, but there are other benefits, such as exposure. Having your story published alongside a well-known author in a themed anthology will introduce new readers to your work. In addition, once the rights revert to you, the story can be published elsewhere as a reprint, expanding your audience even further.

One of the greatest benefits to writing short fiction is developing one of the characters from your novel-length work to give the readers some insight into his or her backstory. Or, you could do something like this: I wrote 7 stories about Captain Bartholomew Quasar, sold 6 of them, then had an editor approach me about writing a novel-length adventure. I've sold other tales with recurring characters—Coyote Cal & Big Yap (weird westerns), Mercer the Soul Smuggler (paranormal noir), Charlie Madison (future noir), Brawnstone & Dahlia (urban fantasy)—and it's been a blast to learn more about each one with every story I write.

Having your short work published provides a HUGE boost in self-confidence. Spending so much time working on a novel that may never see the light of day can be demoralizing, but seeing even a flash fiction piece published can boost your morale like nothing else. And if you're looking for a community of writers struggling to make every word count, be sure to stop by Write1Sub1. We're spending the year in Ray Bradbury's shadow, writing and submitting our short fiction weekly/monthly, and we're growing in our craft along the way. Many of us write novellas and novels as well, and we've found W1S1 to be a great way to stay on track as we pursue our dreams.

Bio:  Milo James Fowler is a teacher by day and a speculative fictioneer by night. His work has appeared in more than 60 publications, including AE Science Fiction, Cosmos, and Shimmer. A San Diego native, Milo currently resides on the Pacific coast with his beloved wife, and when he's not grading papers, he's imagining what the world might be like in a few dozen alternate realities. Stop by anytime: www.milo-inmediasres.blogspot.com And be sure to check out Milo's Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/author/milojamesfowler

Friday Cuteness

No Friday Five this week as I'm away visiting family.

Just a cute picture of my boy!

Have a great weekend.

I'll be back on Monday!

Heroes & Villains Blogfest

I signed up for this awesome blogfest before I planned my visit with my family. I'll make up on visiting the other participants when I get back. Thank you to the wonderful hosts, Jackie and Dani. This is such a fun idea!

Here are the rules:
1) On June 6th, post your favorite heroes and villains.
2) You may list as many, or as little, as you'd like.
3) Be creative with it: lists, quotes, videos, pictures, etc.
4) It'd be cool if you'd display the Heroes and Villains badge on your blog!
5) And most of all HAVE FUN!
6) Sign up on the linky list.

MY FAVORITE HEROES:
In books - Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series). Without her, Harry would've lost.
On TV - Buffy and the whole Scooby gang (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Buffy was strong, but without her friends to support her, she couldn't have done everything she did. They were a great team.
(Just a fun note: There's a fanfic out there called Hermione the vampire slayer! Hehehe!)
In movies - Indiana Jones. Best adventure hero ever.
In comics - Batman. He's not a mutant or an alien. He's a man fighting against the darkness with everything in him.

MY FAVORITE VILLAINS:
In books - It's a tie. Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter series). I thought her far more terrifying than Voldemort! And Jagang (Sword of Truth series). I hated him. I didn't love to hate him. I just hated his loathsome soul.
On TV - The Cylons (Battlestar Galactica). I almost choose the Borg (Star Trek), but the Cylons had so many more layers. They were a pleasure to hate.
In movies - Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street series). He kills you in your dreams. One of the most frightening and original monsters in horror movies ever.
In comics - Magneto. Not because he's a mutant, but because of his mind. A great intelligence. And he believes he's right.

Insecure Writer's Support Group For June 2013

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

 

The road to publication is long and hard. Sometimes we just want to give up after so many rejections. But the key to making it as a writer is perseverance. Many great novels would've never been published if the author just gave up. So to help inspire you to carry on, here's how many times these famous writers were turned away.

 

Stephen King's CARRIE was rejected 30 times. Stephen threw the book into the trash, but his wife retrieved it and sent it out. Lucky for him! And us.

 

A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle was rejected 26 times. Once published, it went on to win the prestigious Newbery Medal.

 

DUNE received 23 rejections before Frank Herbert was picked up by Chilton.

 

WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams was rejected 26 times. 

LORD OF THE FLIES was rejected by 20 publishers. William Golding was told it was absurd and uninteresting.

J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected a dozen times. It was only picked up at the request of a CEO's eight-year-old daughter. Thank you, little girl!

Judy Blume had nothing but rejections for two years straight.

Don't ever give up. Keep writing. Keep submitting. You can do it!

Teaser Tuesday with That Sadie Thing

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I've already read this superbly written collection of short stories, but I'm going to share with you some more. Pick up That Sadie Thing and other stories by Annalisa Crawford. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Here's your teaser:
"Besides, I'm not the type of person who you'd remember; even if I stood at this bus stop, right in front of her every morning for a whole year, she wouldn't recognize me. But, why am I giving you hints? This isn't my story." (That Sadie Thing, 4% on my Kindle)

That Sadie Thing blog tour - guest post by Annalisa Crawford

Published under my maiden name - it is
me though, honestly!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Christine for hosting me on the first stop on my That Sadie Thing blog tour. 

As it's the first day, I thought I'd talk about the first story I ever sold  - Tasting the Grass.

I got £10 for it. I was 19 years old, and  it was the best £10 I'd ever earned - I almost didn't cash the cheque, after all it had my name and the name of the magazine on it. It was my proof that I was a real writer!

The story is about a character who's had a one night stand behind their partner's back.

If I sound a bit vague on this one, it's because any and all detail would be a major spoiler. At the time, I was trying to write for Jackie and Just Seventeen magazines, and they loved their twist-in-the-tale stories, so I tried to write one. I didn't get around to submitting it to either of those magazines, because from the first sentence I knew it wouldn't fit.

It was perhaps easier to find markets in those olden days, because there were less of them - all print, none online. Today, once you start looking, you can find thousands around the web. Any literary magazine of note, back then, was mentioned in Writer's News, which I subscribed to - Panurge, Staple and Stand were just a few I was desperate to make the grade for, but never did.

What it did, though, was give me a good grounding in how to submit and how to receive rejection - an apprenticeship, almost. Writers these days (and I'm really not trying to sound like a veteran here) don't have to be rejected unless they want to be - it's easy to publish anything and everything by yourself. In a way, I think every writer should have a folder crammed full of rejection letters - it's character building!



About Annalisa
I live in Cornwall, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep. I live with my husband, two boys, a dog and a cat. Despite my location. I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along the beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!

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