Shhhhh! Kinley has a secret

I'm cheering on everyone this month for The A to Z Challenge!

The lovely Decadent Kane has a spectacular theme this year: secrets. Click on over to find out the secret Kinley Dorn from my Totem series is keeping. You won't find it in any of the books. This is an exclusive post for Decadent's blog only.

Learn A Word In 100 Words & good luck to the A to Z Challenge bloggers!

Good luck to everyone participating in the A to Z Challenge!

I won't be doing it this year, but I'm cheering you on. I can't wait to read all the awesome posts!

Here's some inspiration for the month!

A cool little collection of drabbles.

A collection of flash fiction inspired by unusual words. Each tiny tale is crafted around a word that is unique or no longer in use. Read them while waiting in line or before bed. They range from sweet and lighthearted to dark and disturbing. Look out for the supernatural, but don’t turn your back on the average human. A killer might be lurking underneath. Expand your vocabulary, and get some inspiration of your own.

Buy links: B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

 
About the Author:

Patricia Josephine never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was more of an art and band geek. Some stories are meant to be told, and now she can't stop writing. She writes Young Adult under the name Patricia Lynne.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.

Links:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/plynne_writes

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/u/0/108938106639683446081

Website: - http://www.patricialynne.com

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13460894.Patricia_Josephine

Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00UH7GAK0

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/patriciajosephine

#IWSG for April 2016

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.

I'm happy to be co-hosting this month along with these awesome writers: Megan Morgan, Chris Votey, Viola Fury, Madeline Mora-Summonte, L.G. Keltner, and Patricia Lynne!

Many of you are participating in the A to Z Challenge this month. My time is very limited this month, so I had to sadly opt out of doing it. But I'm here cheering you on!

The first time I participated in the Challenge I had no clue what to do. I was scared no one would like anything I did. So feeling that way, I wrote about a little girl who started off frightened and grew into a warrior. The story spanned over the entire month. Some of you might remember the tale of a brave woman who fought the monsters under children's beds with a snarky stuffed hippo as her guide.

Fearless received so much love. I went on to self-publish it and put it up for free. There has been over 70,000 downloads of the story since 2012, and that's a modest estimate as I don't know the number of downloads it has had on Kobo. I still am shocked when I think of that many people having read the book.

Many readers write me to say they read Fearless and it was so good, they bought my other books. It has been one of the best ways to market my work.

All of this because of the A to Z Challenge.

The Challenge might be scary, but you can do it. Slay your monsters and write.

P.S. Come stop over at the Untethered Realms blog. I miss doing the Challenge so much, I posted yesterday with my A to Z of funny paranormal things!

Friday Five for May 1, 2015

1. Congratulations to everyone who made it through the A to Z Challenge! We had a lot of fun with it over at the Untethered Realms blog. Take a break this weekend. You deserve it!

2. I had a rough day at my local critique group meeting last Saturday. It's been a while since they really tore into one of my stories. I almost forgot how rough it was to do that in person. I've been revising this week. Slowly trying to patch up the problems and make my story work.

3. I haven't done any writing on my WIP lately. Hopefully next week I'll get a chance to jump back into it. I'm also slowly making some headway with my reading. So many great books, so little time!

4. It's going to be a sunny weekend here. My son starts tee ball tomorrow. We're meeting up with friends and having a barbecue. Lots of fun!

5. May starts off with a couple of great bloghops. On Monday, Sharon Bayliss is hosting the Writer Mama (and papa!) Bloghop and it's IWSG day on Wednesday. I'll see you all then! Have a wonderful weekend.

X has never been sexier

Check out a teaser at Untethered Realms from the third book in the 13th Floor series, The Dragonslayer.

X is one of the most difficult letters to come up with a post for during the A to Z Challenge. Find out what other clever participants are sharing today by clicking here.

Friday Five for April 24, 2015

1. What a busy week! I had a great visit with my mom. My son's birthday party was rained out, but he wasn't bothered by it at all. He's such a trooper! I, on the other hand, was really disappointed. Spring weather is unpredictable. We brought his cake and decorations to school on Monday and had a little party there with his school friends. It makes me so joyful that I have a happy child who goes with the flow when things like this happen.

2. Thank you to everyone who visited this week. It's my pleasure to help out my fellow writers with reviews and promos. It'll take me some time to catch back up on things, but I'll be making the rounds.

3. For those of you doing the A to Z Challenge, wow, we're nearly at the end. You're almost there! This month has been speeding by. It's been so much fun to participate with Untethered Realms. Next week, look on X day for a certain dragon slayer. *winks*

4. No writing or reading was done this week, but I squeezed in a bit of time to critique two short stories for my local writer's meeting this Saturday. I submitted my sci-fi horror tale. Hopefully I managed to pull off the terrifying twist.

5. Have a wonderful weekend, folks! Here's a smile to help you get into the happy weekend mood.

Friday Five for April 17, 2015

1. Progress on my current WIP has been steady as a snail. I'm near 10k now and it's just getting into the thick of things. Usually I just throw my readers right into it, but with the weight of this story, it needs the slow start.

2. I've been trying to catch up on my reading. I have a lot of writer friends' books on my Kindle. Please don't think I'm forgetting about you! I also review everything I read. So know when I do read your book, you will know.

3. It's going to be a busy week for me. My mom's arriving tomorrow for a week long visit, and it's my son's 5th birthday on Monday. We're having a party at the park for him on Sunday. (Hopefully the weather will cooperate. *knocks on wood*) Lots of fun!

4. For all of you who are participating in the A to Z Challenge, you're over halfway through! Yay! You can do it. I've been having a great time reading people's posts and meeting new bloggers. In case you missed it before, I'm doing it with the Untethered Realms group. Our theme is teasers from our books, and wow, these books are amazing.

5. Don't forgot today's #SpecFicChat hosted by @UnRealms and @EllieMGarratt at noon EDT. The topic: What happened to the future? The flying cars and time machines? We want to hear what you have to say. And I really want my own hover board.

Friday Five for April 10, 2015 plus Letter I

1. Last Friday, my son was hit by a rotten stomach virus. This week, it found a new host in me. I still feel like a zombie, but we're both doing better. Hopefully the weather will hold and be nice for the weekend.

2. It's that time again when I have to renew my passport. I hate having my picture taken. It always looks like a mug shot.

3. I haven't done much writing at all. I've watched several episodes of Castle, though! I'm almost done with season five.

4. Tomorrow we register my little guy for kindergarten. Wow. I'm so excited and panicking at the same time! It's like pre-release jitters.

5. Check out the Untethered Realms blog today for the letter I and a little teaser from Of Blood and Sorrow.

Friday Five for April 3, 2015

1. We're three days in to the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge. If you're participating, how are you doing? I'm doing it with the Untethered Realms group again this year. It's so much fun and less stress that way. Pop on over to read teasers from our books.

2. With the Challenge going on, I'm going to step back and only do a few blog posts this month. Some promos and reviews for my fellow authors, and my Friday Five.

3. I've started a new urban fantasy novel. It's slow going at the moment, but this one is heavy. It's going to be a big one. Huge in length, but also heavy plot-wise. So many things are weaving together. I love having a story grow organically like this.

4. Today is my husband's birthday. My son and I will bake him a cake and make him a special dinner. And it's Easter this weekend. Happy Easter to all who celebrate! My little guy is eager to go egg hunting.

5. Finally, thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged me during my tours. You guys are awesome! Here are the final winners of the Geeky Dice & Debauchery Tour Giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Five for May 2, 2014

1. Not a terribly productive week writing-wise. I've started on my synopsis for WIP #1. I'm doing my best not to spend as much time on it as I did writing the novel. My goal for this month is to get WIP #1 query ready.

2. The A to Z Challenge is over. I know many of you are still catching up on your sleep! I thoroughly enjoyed participating as a part of a group. Last year, I barely had enough time to respond to comments on my own blog. This year, I visited several new blogs. I would be happy to do the group thing again next year, but I'll wait until my son's in school full-time before I do it myself.

3. I'm going to settle back into a 3 day a week posting schedule. Lots of new releases and reveals coming from many of my writing friends this month. It's going to be an exciting month!

4. Speaking of reveals, have you seen Elizabeth Seckman's cover for Bella's Point? Absolutely gorgeous.

5. And here's some fun reading for the weekend. River Fairchild has released her awesome collection of Death & Chronos flash fiction, Living the Afterlife. Grab your copy for FREE on Smashwords.

Thirty stories filled with laughter and mishaps as a Harley-riding Death and anachronistic Chronos create havoc in Purgatory and on Earth. A host of Immortals join in the misadventures.

Find out what happens when Death teaches War how to bowl. Can Chronos fix his blunder when he loses a year? What is Gaia going to do when she discovers the invisible sheep? Can you win playing poker with Evil? 

 

Step into their world. The Afterlife will never be the same.

You vote for the creature with the most X Factor!

  Today is the X post of the 2014 A to Z Challenge!

Lots of people usually have trouble with X, but I've read so many clever ones over the past couple of years. I can't wait to see what your posts are about this year!

  Today at Untethered Realms, we're inviting you to vote for the creature with the most X Factor. We have some fearsome beasts and a certain snarky stuffed hippo. Come on over and have some fun with this UR group post!

The UR blog is also nearing 100 followers. Woo-hoo!

When we hit 100, we'll be having a massive giveaway. This is one you don't want to miss out on.

Friday Five for April 25, 2014

1. After today, only 4 posts left for the A to Z Challenge! Wow. Where has the month gone? It's been so much fun. I've really enjoyed doing the Challenge as part of a group. Untethered Realms has a huge X group post coming up on Monday. You get to vote which creature has the most X Factor. Don't miss it! (Psssst, there may be a certain stuffed hippo visiting that day!)

2. My son had a fantastic birthday. He's already talking about what he wants to do for his next birthday! I still need to recover from this one. About a third of our guests were out sick, so we had a lot of pizza and cake leftover. This is the first time in my life where I cannot eat any more leftover pizza and cake. Yeah, I never thought it'd happen either.

3. I've been moving right along with my revisions for WIP #1 this week. These are the most difficult revisions I've ever done in my writing career. But, oh, how the manuscript is shining!

4. For the third time this year, I met a book I couldn't finish reading. I stopped at 9% on my Kindle. It was awful. Last year, I had amazing luck with books. I read so many great ones outside my genre. This year, not so much. At least I'm cleaning out my Kindle library!

5. We have no plans for the weekend except to fix the lawnmower (and then mow) and enjoy the wonderful weather before the rain hits us. Have a great weekend!

A to Z and UR

One full week left of the A to Z Challenge!

How are you holding up?

There are only 9 posts left to go. Don't give up!

You can do it!

For fun with fantastical creatures,

head on over to Untethered Realms.

Discover a new creature to gaze at in wonder

or flee from in terror!

Friday Five for April 18, 2014

1. How are you A-to-Zers doing? Having a lot of fun? I've been loving visiting your blogs, and I'm having a blast with fantastical creatures at Untethered Realms. Today I'll be there with the letter P. Come find out what strange being I've been working on with my latest WIP.

2. I had a great visit with my mom this week. She spoiled us all. Am I old because I'm excited she bought me a shoe rack so I could have shoes organized and out of the way by the front door?

3. No writing or revising was done this past week. I still haven't heard from the editors about the majority of my short story submissions nor about my geeky novella. At least I'm not checking my email every fifteen minutes anymore!

4 & 5. Big weekend coming up. There's Easter, of course, but also my little guy is turning four! I can hardly believe it. He's so smart and his feet are nearing my size! We'll be having a party at the park for him. He invited all his friends from his class at school. We'll have about seven kids with their families there. Lots of fun! And sugar. Wish me luck!

Happy 4th birthday, to my favorite guy!

Friday Five for April 4, 2014

1. I'm having a lot of fun with the A to Z Challenge this year. I'm getting to visit a lot more new blogs which I haven't done in a while. Don't forget to join me and the other awesome authors at Untethered Realms for our A to Z of fantastical creatures.

2. My fantasy short story, "Summoning Fire" is up on Aurora Wolf - A Literary Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It has a dancing summoner, her gorgeous guardian, and a lot of undead.

3. My husband's birthday was yesterday. My son and I baked him a German chocolate cake, and we had pizza for dinner. My husband hurt his shoulder at work, though, and my son wasn't feeling well. It was a quiet afternoon and evening.

4. I haven't had much time to do any writing or revising this week. Again, my balance has been thrown off by other things. So hopefully I can fall back into a good groove next week before my mom comes down to visit the week after.

5. Have I mentioned everything I wanted to? I think so. I'm a bit frazzled this week. Enjoy your weekend!

IWSG for April 2014

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.

I know a lot of you are busy with the A to Z Challenge this month. Good luck! It's so much fun.

The first year I did the Challenge, I wrote a story called FEARLESS. I went on to self-publish it and offered it for free. As of this date, there has been over 30,000 downloads. Amazing things come from the Challenge!

I wanted to offer up a cheer, but then I found this awesome quote from Helen Colella. Here are some tips and encouragement to go along with the Challenge: "Appreciate all writers. Believe in yourself. Challenge creativity. Dream of success. Explore fact, fiction, and fantasy. Focus on your writing career. Go the distance. Hold tight to dreams. Invest in classes, workshops, and conferences. Join a critique group. Keep abreast of publishing needs. Live, love, and laugh. Make every word count. Nourish the body, mind and soul. Open your mind to knowledge. Prepare and be positive. Query first. Read, read and read. Set goals. Trust in yourself. Understand the impact of words. Venerate language. Write. Write. Write. X-out all negativity. Yodel and yell over every accomplishment. Zoom in—complete projects."

Finally, come visit Untethered Realms. We're participating in the Challenge as a group. Our theme: fantastical creatures. I have letter B today.

Good luck to everyone doing the A to Z Challenge

It's that time of year again.

The A to Z Challenge is here! Woo-hoo!

If you haven't heard about it, please visit the A to Z blog.

And there's still time to sign up!

Good luck to everyone participating in the Challenge this year. I considered doing it here on my blog, but April is too busy for me.

BUT I will be participating in it with a group effort.

Check out Untethered Realms this month. We'll be featuring mythological creatures. Famous beasts, not so famous ones, and others we created ourselves. It's going to be so much fun!

I will be doing B and P as my letters, and I'm in the group posts. You'll get a little taste from one of my books from the 13th Floor series and another that I'm querying this year.

Friday Five for March 28th, 2014

1. Is March nearly done already? Wow. Time just flew past, and April's going to be a busy month outside the blogging world for me. I'll be slowing with my blog posts here and participating in the A to Z Challenge with Untethered Realms. We're featuring fantastical creatures. It's going to be a lot of fun!

2. I didn't get much done revision-wise this month. I had hoped to be halfway done with revisions for one of my WIPs, but my CPs and betas have been busy folks too. That's okay with me. I'm not forcing hard deadlines on myself this year. And I'm getting much more sleep because of it!

3. What have I been doing? I'm almost finished a new novella. I couldn't resist writing something new, and this is completely new for me. I found a call for themed novellas on a popular publisher site. One of them made me laugh. A lot. So I went for it, and the story flowed so easily. It's a geeky contemporary tale with absolutely no supernatural elements. Weird for me! And yes, I'm being mysterious about what it exactly is, because if the publisher rejects it, I love it so much I might self-publish it. Then you'll hear no end of it!

4. My son had his first literacy after school special this week. He blew the socks off the teacher. He's the best reader in his preschool by far. I'm so proud of my wonderful little guy.

5. No plans for the weekend. Maybe we'll finally watch Gravity. And the season finale of The Walking Dead. It's been an awesome season! Have a great weekend.

P.S. What do you think of my new blog banner?

A to Z Challenge Reflection Post

I survived the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
Congratulations to all the other survivors.
A big thank you to everyone who stopped by during April with your words of support and encouragement.

A special thank you to the A to Z team. You guys are awesome!

The Madlab Post - Nicole Ayers

Tossing It Out - Arlee Bird

Amlokiblogs - Damyanti Biswas
Alex J. Cavanaugh - Alex J. Cavanaugh
Life is Good - Tina Downey
Cruising Altitude 2.0 - DL Hammons
Retro-Zombie - Jeremy Hawkins
The Warrior Muse - Shannon Lawrence
The QQQE - Matthew MacNish

Leave it to Livia - Livia Peterson

No Thought 2 Small - Konstanz Silverbow
Breakthrough Blogs - Stephen Tremp

Spunk on a Stick - L. Diane Wolfe

This is the 2013 A to Z Challenge Reflection post. It's another way to visit more participants and see what everyone thought of the Challenge. Sign up on the linky list and let everyone know what your experiences were last month.

One of my favorite blogs to visit is Heather M. Gardner's. Her theme was Stormy the Weather Gnome's bucket list. It was hilarious! She also recently signed a contract to have her book, MAGUIRE'S CORNER published! Congratulations, Heather. On the final day of the Challenge, Heather bestowed upon me the Zombie Rabbit Award. I get to pass on this magnificent award to my ten favorite blogs from the Challenge. Thank you, Heather, and thank you to the ten bloggers who entertained me during April with your awesome posts.

1) Nick Wilford - wrote an amazing story about an angel with words supplied each day by his readers.

2) M. Pepper Langlinais - had intriguing snippets of her characters Peter and Charles (from her book St. Peter in Chains) traveling the world and looking for a place to settle down.

3) Elise Fallson - an A to Z of "ology" words. People study and collect the strangest things.

4) Lily - follows Spawn's descent into madness with his plans for world domination. Hilarious!

5) Sandy - excellent traveling tips and sharing her adventures.

6) Julie Flanders - her theme was Alaska inspired by her book Polar. I've always wanted to go there!

7) Mark Means - a whole month of obscure comic book characters. Even my geekery was put to the test!

8) Al Diaz - a tour of his magnificent dragon's cave and dwarf cheerleaders.

9) Shannon Lawrence - an A to Z of history's mysteries. Absolutely fascinating. Just up my alley.

10) Mina Lobo - an enthralling A to Z of aphrodisiacs. I learned so much. Made notes!

Friday Five for May 3, 2013

1) I haven't done a Friday Five in so long. I still have a bit of an A to Z hangover. It was a great month, but boy, does that take a lot out of you. My A to Z Challenge Reflections post will be on Monday.

2) I've been working very hard on my revisions for THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE. This book has been a roller coaster ride. I didn't think I'd have it done on time, but don't worry! Thanks to my fabulous CPs and beta readers, I will have it ready for the 13th. My blog tour schedule is set. The cover reveal for the final book in the series will be on May 17th. Be prepared for a big surprise!

3) May is going to be a tremendously busy month for me. I have something going on every weekend and way too much during the weeks. I'll be easing back on the blogging except during the tour. Once the tour is over, I need to find a good balance between writing and networking. I'm losing an hour or two a day since my son only naps two or three times a week now. It's time I set a schedule that allows me to do everything I need to do even if it isn't as much as I want to. Not only must I find the balance, I need to allow myself to feel okay about it.

4) My son only has three more weeks of preschool left before his summer break. It was looming over me, wondering what to do with him, but I've planned several activities. At least one a week. Then there are play dates and lounging in his new big pool at home.  Plus we'll be visiting my family in Canada for a week in June. It'll go quickly. I need to get as organized with my writing time as I am for stuff with my kid!

5) I'm still thinking on what I'll do after I finish the 13th Floor series. There are a lot of possibilities. I'm still giving serious consideration to revising an old manuscript and querying it. Yet more and more, it seems self-publishing is what is still best for me.

Have a wonderful weekend!