#IWSG for August 2017

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.

This month's awesome co-hosts are: Dolarah @ Book Lover, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Yvonne Ventresca, LG Keltner, and me!

Before we get to this month's question and my insecurities, let me tell you about this super fun event!

Show Us Your Writer Insecurity! 

Are you proud to be an insecure writer?

Then show us! 

On Wednesday, October 4 (IWSG Day), post a photo of yourself (or your alter ego) with any of the IWSG swag or with the IWSG logo. Then leave a comment that day at either the IWSG website’s post or the IWSG Facebook post directing us to your photo. (All blog, Facebook, Goodreads, and newsletter members welcome, but photo must be posted on a blog or Facebook to qualify.)

The IWSG site admins will visit each one and pick the top three. Why? Because there are cool prizes involved:

Third place – EBook of A Change of Mind and Other Stories by Nick Wilford, eBook of The Remnant by William Michael Davidson, eBook of Cling to God by Lynda R. Young, eBook of Already Home by Heather M. Gardner, and eBook of Dragon of the Stars by Alex. J. Cavanaugh.

Second place – The entire eBook collection of the Totem series by Christine Rains, eBook of Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie, audio book of CassaSeries by Alex J. Cavanaugh, eBook of Black and White by Nick Wilford, and your choice eBook from J.L. Campbell.

Grand prize winner - IWSG website interview, IWSG newsletter spotlight, IWSG pinned tweet for one week, C. Lee McKenzie's Featured Follower for the month, the IWSG Goodreads book club eBook for October/November, a short chapter critique, and a pair of IWSG erasers. 

We have some great IWSG swag – pens, mugs, magnets, erasers, etc. Proceeds go to fund the upkeep of the IWSG site. 

You have two months to prepare – show us your best insecurity!

This month's IWSG question: What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing? 

I have a lot when reading. Bad grammar, huge plot holes, poor characterization, sloppy formatting, etc. Being a writer has made it more difficult to get past these things, but I do save myself time by putting down books I don't enjoy and moving on to something else.

When I'm writing, it's usually things in the environment that annoy me. Noise, people interrupting, cat interrupting, and if it's too hot.

My insecurities this month: I'm a new admin for the IWSG. I'm so excited about it. I've been a part of the group for a while. I've received such great advice, encouragement, and support, I'm happy to give back to the community. But, of course, I worry if I'll be good enough and be able to keep up with my responsibilities. What if I mess something up? I don't want to disappoint anyone. The admin team is incredibly organized, smart, and creative. I hope my contribution will continue to make the IWSG such an awesome group.

You all can help me with the newsletter. You can do this by sending me your news. I want to hear about new releases, events, and exciting news. Please send an email with "IWSG - news submission" in the subject line to christinerains (dot) writer @ gmail (dot) com. Thank you!

One more awesome announcement I want to share with you about the newsletter: On August 24th at 2:00 pm EST, Chrys Fey will be participating in a LIVE YouTube interview with Evan Carmichael, an entrepreneur who she'll be interviewing about his book Your One Word and getting some great advice for IWSG members. You'll be able to watch the interview live HERE. You can set a reminder if you click on the link, or you can watch it later. The video will be uploaded in the August 30th IWSG newsletter issue.

Friday Five for February 5, 2016

1. Today is the last day of The Paramours Tour. I'll be over at Megan Morgan's blog and Long and Short Reviews today. It's been a really fun week, but I'm ready for a break this weekend. You still can enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $20 gift card.

2. The edits are finished on Big Yearning, the first book of The Sasquatch Susies series. I'll have a release date very soon. I've also seen the covers. Oh my! When they're finalized, I'll unveil them... Well, there's no veils involved. In fact, there's very little clothing at all!

3. It's funny that while I write erotica, I do get all shy when seeing the covers. The Paramours' covers are conservative in the erotica world (even though I really love them), but the Susies books have a ton more beefcake! Everything about these novellas is BIG.

4. I've been working on the third book for my Totem series. It's going a lot slower than I thought it would. The protagonist and her hero aren't chatty types. And the protagonist swears a lot. I have threatened them that if they don't start talking, I'm going to throw the baddies at them much sooner than I planned. They think I'm bluffing. Ha!

5. I've no plans this weekend except to take full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Time to get out and enjoy the sunshine before crawling back into my writer's cave when the cold comes back. Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Five for October 2, 2015

1. The edits for Poltergeist's Pleasure (The Paramours #2) are finished. I'm having a great time working with my new editor. She's quick and efficient. That means I have a release date: October 23rd. Just in time for Halloween!

2. I've been editing and critiquing this week, but I managed to get started on the second novella in my Totem series. Totem. Yes, I really like it. The more I type it, the better it feels. It's the same way I felt about the 13th Floor, and I'm still in love with that series.

3. Next week I'll be absent from the internet. It's my son's fall break and my mother will be visiting. We'll be doing lots of fun fall activities which include celebrating my birthday! We'll be going to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner one night. Mmmm... I'm already drooling thinking about the desserts. I do have a book review for Monday and my IWSG post for Wednesday all ready to go.

4. Tomorrow my family and I will be going to a nearby Renaissance Faire with friends. A way to warm up for the Realms Faire festivities coming next month! Keep your fingers crossed that it won't rain.

5. Last but not least, the Realms Faire Thunderclap has been fixed. Huzzah! Please lend your support on social media to help promote this fantastic event. Just click HERE and pick how you'd like to help out.

Have a wonderful week!

Friday Five for September 11, 2015

1. I didn't get as much time to write this week, but I passed the 10k mark with my newest project. I finished the first round of edits for the first book in The Paramours series. Not much needed to be changed at all. My editor might send it back to me once more for an okay, and then it can be sent on for formatting. That's when I get my release dates!

2. My holiday horror short story, "All I Want For Christmas" was accepted by 9 Tales for their upcoming release, 9 Tales Told In The Dark. Yay! It will be released late this year. Another one of my stories was short-listed by a pro venue. I've been sending stories to this venue for the last few years, and this is my fourth time being short-listed with them. Maybe the fourth time is the charm!

3. Have you heard of the movie Tusk? It's a Kevin Smith film. A ridiculous shock horror about an insane man who kidnaps people and makes them into a walrus. I expected utter silliness when I sat down with my husband to watch it. What I found instead was brilliance. Not the story itself, but in the performances from Michael Parks and Johnny Depp. I haven't been this blown away by a pair of actors in a long time.

4. It's getting to that time of year where there are a lot of scary movies and shows on TV. When I do my exercises during the weekdays, I don't watch talk shows or soaps. I watch ghost and monster hunters. I've been seeing a lot of commercials for what's coming in October. Here's one show you might not have heard about: Exorcism Live! Yes, they'll be doing a live exorcism. Don't let the ads fool you (like they did me!). They're not exorcising a person. It's a house. I always wonder about these live shows. What do they do if absolutely nothing happens?

5. It's almost the weekend! What are your plans? We have a BBQ & Blues Fest and a hot air balloon festival going on nearby. It'll be the perfect cool autumn weather for it too.

The 13th Floor collection blog tour begins and Nick Wilford's editing service launch

Happy first day of October!

And happy first day of The 13th Floor Complete Collection blog tour!

I have a spectacular month planned. There will be FIVE giveaways. Yes, I may be a little crazy, but I know you love it.

I'm starting off the tour with one of my fantastic critique partners, Tania Walsh.

Did you know she recently released a great paranormal romance called CLOAKED IN FUR? An awesome werewolf story.

I'll be talking about writing the series from start to finish.

Plus, you can enter a giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of the collection!

Buy THE 13th FLOOR COMPLETE COLLECTION here:

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

With the unstoppable rise of self-publishing, it’s easier than ever to put your words and stories out there in the world. This is a great thing, and I’m all for it. However, it’s not just about the story - although of course, that is the most important part - but the way it’s presented. After spending months or years on a novel, building an incredible world and honing your characters and storylines to perfection, the last thing you want is to be let down by a lack of editing. It’s just as important as an arresting cover image.

Nick Wilford, Freelance Editor is a one-stop shop for affordable editing, proofreading and formatting services. With professional training and ten years of experience as a journalist and editor, the time has come to transfer these skills in order to help out the fellow authors I have come to love.

But it doesn’t stop there. I’m ready to edit anything; from a crucial term paper, to memoirs and other non-fiction books, short stories, articles or job application letters. Let me put that finishing touch on your masterpiece.

Feel free to take a look at my website for further details of my services and prices.

Bio: Nick Wilford is a writer, freelance editor and stay-at-home dad. Fascinated by words from a young age, he trained as a journalist before embracing the calling of fiction. When not writing he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. He has four short stories published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also co-running a campaign to get a dedicated specialist college built in Scotland.

Links:

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

LinkedIn

Saturday Six for June 23rd

1. I didn't get a chance for a Friday Five yesterday, so I added one and made it a Saturday Six. I had a good reason for it, though. Cherie Reich's Women of Foxwick is an awesome collection of fantasy short stories. You can read my review here.

2. I took the plunge. I made a Facebook fan page and opened a Twitter account. Twitter is a bit overwhelming. I managed to link it to my fan page, so that a Twitter update goes on there too. My Goodreads is linked to Twitter which then goes on to Facebook. I need to find a way to link my blog, LinkedIn, and Google+ to it now too. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about this! Anyway, yes. Please like my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

3. I haven't done much writing at all this week. I've done a lot of networking research and creation. We'll count that as productive.

4. I edited my short story for this month and sent it to The World's Greatest Fantasy Writing Contest. My critique partners and my writing group liked it. My group agreed I needed to tighten the tension at the end. So I pulled the laces tight and cut out a bunch of words. Ouch.

5. My son is becoming more clearly introverted. I'm not surprised since my husband and I are introverts, but I had hoped that our son would have it a little easier. When we go places with a lot of people, he'll tell me there's "too many people" and ask to go home. He doesn't like share space with other people either. He'll go to the emptiest spot at the library, park or pool. I know how he feels, but it's going to be rough. I've been reading up on raising an introverted child. I hope I can do right by him. I don't want to traumatize him with any social situation as I was as a child, but I don't want him to miss out. I want him to understand there's nothing wrong with being an introvert. We're cool people too.

6. No plans for the weekend. Maybe a stop at the library and a walk in the woods. Have a good weekend, folks!

Editing and Lisa Potts blogoversary

I've been finding it hard to get a moment to do anything this week. I've started my third round of edits on my latest WIP. I'm finally breaking it down into chapters. When I write the first draft, I do it in one big flowing story. Trying to decide where and when I want to start or end a chapter only distracts me. I need to keep going even if one scene ends and I start another.

Today Lisa Potts is celebrating her first Blogoversary! Please stop by her blog and check it out. She's having an awesome giveaway.

Titles can be so elusive

I finished my first full edit of my latest WIP. I think the story flows well. It's a fun tale. I don't take myself too seriously and that's exactly how I wanted it to feel. There's things I might need to add or change, but I'll wait until my critique partners have a chance to read it. No one else has read the manuscript yet. I know how I want to make my readers feel, but whether it's accomplished that or not, I won't know until I get someone else's opinion.

I still don't have a title. I need something flirty. Something with a key or curse and lion or sphinx in it. The Key To A Lion's Hunger. How To Make A Lion Roar. I don't know. The few others I've thought of are far too silly and dirty. Yes, those two are the nicer ones! Sometimes stories make it difficult for me to name them. Usually when that happens, I just name them for their protagonists. It won't work for this book. Verena is a lovely name, but it doesn't tell anyone a thing about what the story is about.

I'm going to let the manuscript sit a week. Then I'll go back at it again with fresh eyes. I have a dark fantasy short story and the premiere of True Blood to distract me until I get back to it.

First day of summer

I had one of my vampire teeth extracted this morning. I was sad the dentist chose that one to take out. I have two canines on the top and two, well, one now, on the bottom which sit higher/lower than the other teeth. I've always joked they were my vampire teeth. The dentist had to wiggle it out to the side and it came out with a loud crack. I prepared myself for it, so I didn't startle or even flinch. The assistant cringed, though!

I'm not in any pain. I'm usually very good with pain, anyway. I'm glad I don't have to take any pain killers because my son behaved at the dentist and then took a nap when we got home. I was able to get in an hour of editing my WIP. To top the day off, my son ate his green beans at dinner along with everything else. That alone makes it a good day.

Happy First Day of Summer, everyone!