Cherie Reich's Blog, page 11

#IWSG: Progress | An Excerpt from Nick Wilford's A Change of Mind and Other Stories | Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Chapter 26

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the IWSG participants, please click here.

A short IWSG post today with a word of encouragement since Nick's here today with an excellent excerpt from his A Change of Mind and Other Stories. It's okay to fail as long as you get up and keep trying. Progress really is progress. Slow or fast, as long as you keep working toward a goal, you'll eventually get there. It's a hard lesson to learn, but one we all need to be reminded about every so often.


Read Reborn from the  beginning  or  Chapter Twenty-Six .
Now over to Nick...
Thanks for having me over today, Cherie. I’d like to offer your readers an excerpt from my novella, A Change of Mind, where my main character, Reuben, is arriving at his brother’s 40th birthday party.*I grabbed my paltry present from the passenger seat and got out. At least it was a balmy night. During the day, it was getting oppressively hot, but the evenings were pleasant. I approached my brother’s house, although it could be more accurately described as a mansion. An Edwardian townhouse in red sandstone, it was set back and partially obscured from the street by tall conifer trees. Entering the drive, I fixed my eyes on its large bay windows as if staring it down. Practice for doing it on real people, although I doubted I would be able to pull that off until I’d had my treatment.There was a lawned section of the approach that was littered with gaudy modern art, mismatched from the house but also from each other. My brother was one of those people who liked to flaunt his self-made wealth but didn’t have any of the taste or refinement to do it with style. I didn’t resent his success because I had been programmed not to hope or aspire to anything. Nothing was going to get better, so it was all about day-to-day survival.My own tastes were strictly neutral, to the point, or so I hoped, of being forgettable. I just wanted to fade into the background and attract no attention. I’d chosen a plain white short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans for the occasion, meticulously ironed, of course. Whereas my brother was always known for his peacock-like flamboyance. I hadn’t seen him for four years, but he had probably just got worse in that time.And now I was at the front door. There was one of those brass knockers in the shape of a fist. Only, unusually, this one had its middle finger up. It summed up quite well my brother’s attitude to the whole world. Before I could reach for this offensive adornment, the door swung open and a middle-aged woman in a garish and inappropriately short pink dress barrelled into me. As I staggered back before regaining my footing, she ricocheted away and was violently sick into a potted hydrangea at the side of the front door.It looked like the party was in full swing.I left the woman emptying her guts and took a step into the hall in front of me. I don’t know how I did so, because it was akin to stepping into an alligator-infested swamp. It would look innocuous enough to anyone else – a crowd of people standing around chatting, hands thrust in pockets or holding various beverages, with apparent carefree ease – a skill that I sorely lacked.


Title: A Change of Mind and Other StoriesAuthor: Nick WilfordGenre: Speculative fictionFormat: Ebook onlyPage/word count: 107 pages, approx. 32,000 wordsRelease date: 25th May 2015Publisher: Superstar Peanut Publishing
A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine.  In A Change of Mind, Reuben is an office worker so meek and mild he puts up with daily bullying from his boorish male colleagues as if it’s just a normal part of his day. But when a stranger points him in the direction of a surgeon offering a revolutionary new procedure, he can’t pass up the chance to turn his life around.  But this isn’t your average surgeon. For a start, he operates alone in a small room above a mechanic’s. And he promises to alter his patients’ personality so they can be anything they want to be…  In Marissa, a man who is determined to find evidence of his girlfriend’s infidelity ends up wondering if he should have left well alone.  The Dog God finds a chink in the armour of a man with a megalomaniacal desire to take over the world.  In The Insomniac, a man who leads an obsessively regimented lifestyle on one hour’s sleep a night finds a disruption to his routine doesn’t work for him.  Hole In One sees a dedicated golfer achieving a lifelong ambition.  The Loner ends the collection on a note of hope as two family members try to rebuild their lives after they are torn apart by jealousy.
Purchase Links:Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | Nook | Kobo Add it on Goodreads
Meet the author: Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working 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 the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. Visit him at his blog or connect with him on Twitter or Goodreads.

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Writing Update: June Goals

Happy Wednesday!
May has been a pretty busy month between getting everything ready for the Once upon a Nightmare Blog Tour in June and editing the stories for Mayhem in the Air. Since I read Libbie Hawker's Take Off Your Pants!, a book about outlining, I plan to apply what I learned to my outline for Marked and hope to dive into writing soon. *crosses fingers*
For those who don't know, my wrists, the right one in particular, have been bothering me now for five months and have affected how much I can do on the computer at a time. I've been diagnosed with mild carpal tunnel, tendonitis, and osteoarthritis and so far haven't found anything that's fixed the pain. (I'm still waiting on my new ergonomic chair/desk at work.) I'm slower now, and I've finally accepted that I can't do quite as much as I used to or want to. But it won't stop me from completing my goals, even if they take longer to accomplish. I've been mainly focusing on one goal to completion. The progress is slow but still progress.
That said, here are my June goals:Mayhem in the Air - So far I've edited a little over half the stories in this Untethered Realms' anthology, and I have four or so more to edit. It should be a great anthology, and I hope to complete this task by early June.Update Blog/Websites/Social Media - I have my spiffy new tagline (Feeding your inner bookworm) and know what I want to do, but I still have to modify my blog, websites, and social media with new pictures and the like. After I finish the Mayhem in the Air stories, this is my next goal.Marked - Once I finish the blog/websites/social media updates, the plan is to modify my outline and write Marked, Liam's story.Blog Tour - The Once upon a Nightmare Blog Tour will run from June 22 to June 26, so I'll be doing a lot of blog visiting those dates. I'm also running my first Kindle Countdown deal from June 22-28.
***2015 Stats (1/1/15-5/26/15) - 15,077 Words written and 1,121 pages edited***
What are your goals for June?

Falling for #SpecFic: Grimm / Cover Cafe Nominations / Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Part III and Chapter 25

I have fallen in love with NBC's Grimm. It's part detective show and part supernatural goodness. The premise is that the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales are true. Grimms stop Wesen, people who can transform into a beast, but not all Wesen are bad, of course. Or Grimms.
I came into Grimm late. When the show first premiered in 2011 our NBC station was spotty, so we often didn't watch anything on NBC. A year or two later, we purchased a new antenna and were able to get that station again, but it wasn't until the start of Season Four that I watched Grimm live, so to speak. I used Amazon Prime to watch Season One of Grimm and was into Season Two when Season Four came on TV. Last November, I purchase Season Two and Season Three and was all caught up before the end of December.
I've always been a big fan of detective shows. Add fantasy elements, and I'm so there! Plus, I love there are scary moments and humorous ones. Nick Burkhardt is a Grimm and a homicide detective, and his partner is Hank Griffin, who is a regular human. Most of Nick and Hank's cases are Wesen-related. Within the first couple episodes, I had developed a soft spot for Monroe, a lovable quirky clock repairer who happens to turn into a ferocious Blutbad (wolf). He and Rosalee (a Fuchsbau--a fox-like Wesen) are adorable. Sergeant Drew Wu (yes, I laughed when I learned Wu's first name was Drew and rhymed) has turned into a great addition to the Grimm team. Captain Sean Renard is sexy and mysterious, and I'm still not 100% certain I trust him. Nick also has an on-and-off relationship with Juliette Silverton, who works as a veterinarian. I could say many more things about Juliette based on what's gone on recently in this season, but I'll try not to spoil the show for those who haven't seen it yet. And I must not forget Bud, an eisbiber, who always makes me smile.

And the last episode of Season Four... Wow! Let's just say certain persons totally had it coming to them, even though the last one made me more than a bit sad. It still had to happen, especially since that certain someone torched the trailer.
What excites me the most about Grimm is their use of fairy tales, myths, and legends to create Wesen. The world-building is phenomenal. They make terms like Wesen, Blutbad, Fuchsbau, Hexenbiest, and more common place to us Grimmsters. I look forward to Friday nights, not because of the weekend, but because of Grimm being on.
And they've been picked up for a fifth season, which should be darker than the seasons before, although I hope they keep some of the humor too!
Have you seen Grimm? Are you a Grimmster?
A reminder: The full covers of Reborn and People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors have been nominated on Cover Cafe in the Two-Image Cover category. Voting takes place May 5-May 25, and you do have to vote in three separate categories for the vote to count. Thank you!!
Read from the beginning, Part III, or Chapter Twenty-Five.

Bookworm News

BOOKS READAres' Temptation by Aubrie DionneJurassic Park by Michael CrichtonRestore by Susan Kaye QuinnThe Lost World by Michael CrichtonTake Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
BOOK REVIEWSAres' Temptation by Aubrie DionneA curse will turn Kaye's and Ares' worlds around in Aubrie Dionne's Ares' Temptation. When Hekate curses the God of War, only love can give him his powers back. I'm a sucker for Greek myths, and I loved seeing the softer side to Ares. Kaye is a sweet yet clumsy mortal who really needed Ares' boost of powers. The two balance each other. Grammy is a hoot, and I enjoyed the parts with her, Kaye, and Ares. The romance is light and sweet, and the action and danger in the last third of the novel was so exciting. If you enjoy sweet romances and Greek gods, then look no further than Ares' Temptation by Aubrie Dionne.
Jurassic Park by Michael CrichtonGenetically engineered dinosaurs placed in a budding theme park island, what can possibly go wrong in Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park? If you believe Ian Malcolm, life will find a way and screw up what illusions of control we think we have. What I love about Crichton's books is that the science makes the reader believe what is happening in the novel could really happen. The book makes you think. I love the nearly philosophical musings on Ian Malcolm. The dinosaurs are majestic and fearsome. The action and danger are real and immediate. Even though I have read this book several times throughout the years, it captures my imagination and takes my breath away. The book is quite different than the movie in many places, although both are spectacular. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton has remained one of my all-time favorite books since I read it the first time in the mid-1990s.
Restore by Susan Kaye QuinnRestorative Human Medical Care Unit 7435 may only have a sentient level of fifty, but its love is unconditional in Susan Kaye Quinn's Restore. The human-like qualities of Unit 7435 pulled me into this short story. Its happiness levels are linked to how it can help its masters, legacy patient and ascender. The unfairness of this post-Singularity world brought tears to my eyes. My happiness became linked to Unit 7435's as it desperately tried to restore health to its patient master. A heartbreaking story, Susan Kaye Quinn's Restore will make you rethink AIs and robots.
The Lost World by Michael CrichtonThe dinosaurs on Site B can't be contained forever in Michael Crichton's The Lost World. Although I've read this book at least two times before, I must admit the movie version had warped my memories of the book, so there were many scenes I felt like I was reading them anew. Crichton expands upon the dinosaurs and their presumed behaviors. I loved that Ian Malcolm was back, although for me, Sarah Harding quickly took over. She's intelligent and fearless, and I doubt anyone would have made it out alive if she hadn't decided to come on this adventure to Isla Sorna. Although not quite as fantastic as Jurassic Park, The Lost World by Michael Crichton is an exciting read.
By the way, I wish the movies had made use of the chameleon-type dinosaurs. They were really cool in how their skin changed to match their surroundings and would have been visually stunning in one of the movies.
Take Off Your Pants! by Libbie HawkerPlotter or pantser, a writer can learn a thing or two about outlining in Libbie Hawker's Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing. Several writer friends recommended this book, and I'm glad they did. As a plotter, I already outlined my stories into chapter beats, but what I learned here has given me the confidence that I knew what I was doing but can outline even more purposely. Hawker expounds upon a clear-cut method that works for her and gives plenty of examples. I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned in Take Off Your Pants! by Libbie Hawker in my next manuscript.
EXCERPT AND PROMO
Until he knew for certain whether he dealt with one genocidal alien or two, Lepsi couldn’t think right. His thoughts refused to stand still, stuttering and churning.

The hatch slid fully open. He sprang off the cargo ejector, sailing two kilometers into the ether. He tumbled in the black for precisely twenty-three seconds then engaged his thrusters to journey the remaining twenty kilometers over to a spacecraft-sized mass of debris. The bits clumped together forming a weird metallic planetoid.

He traced along the char marks and the mangled pieces of hull. The answers he needed wouldn’t be found in this trash, yet he was closer to them here than anywhere else, unless he joined up with the horrid alien again. His limbs shuddered and his lungs struggled for breath. He never wanted to see the cloud-like ship again. He couldn’t. He’d crack into a billion unrecoverable pieces. Just like the rubble of the Fo’wo ship around him.

In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendants to survive in a harsh universe. This is the sixth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.

The Backworlds hang by a Quantum string, a thread about to snap. Annihilation is coming if Craze can’t stop it.

The genocidal alien he had trapped breaks free, destroying a ship belonging to the Backworlds’ oldest enemy, the Fo’wo’s. The murderous alien wants to overtake the galaxy. The Fo’wo’s want another war.

The Backworlds’ best chance to survive is to overcome a century of hate and forge an alliance with the Fo’wo’s. Because of his history with the alien, Craze is recruited to represent his people. Now he’s the most hated man in the galaxy.

The looming war will be a holocaust unless Craze can stop it, knowing salvation comes at a price.

Buy links: Amazon / Nook / iBook / Google Play / Smashwords / Kobo / Other
About M. Pax: Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons to her, and she blames Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. She docents at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers, and one of her cats has a crush on Mr. Spock. You can find out more by visiting her website: mpaxauthor.com.
BOOKS RELEASING IN MAYApparent Wind by Dallas MurphyA Perfect Man by Cecilia DominicThe Water Knife by Paolo BacigalupiLuckiest Girl Alive by Jessica KnollA Good Killing by Allison LeottaA Change of Mind and Other Stories by Nick WilfordMade You Up by Francesca ZappiaThe Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam MaggsThe Death Code by Lindsay CummingsUndertow by Michael BuckleyMañana by William HjortsbergConsumption by Heather HerrmanDisintegration by Richard ThomasCrossfades by William Todd RoseL.A. Rotten by Jeff KlimaRyder: Bird of Prey by Nick PengelleyIron Warrior by Jay NoelMaterial Girls by Elaine DimopoulosIce Kissed by Amanda HockingEnd of Days by Susan EeDay Shift by Charlaine HarrisThe Shadow Cartel by Layton GreenGo Down Hard by Craig Faustus BuckMemphis Ribs by Gerald DuffYesterday is Dead by Jack LynchPrecipice by M. PaxFifteen Minutes to Live by Phoef SuttonScarlet Undercover by Jennifer LathamFive Night Stand by Richard J. AlleyBehind the Clutter by June SaruwatariA Long Time Until Now by Michael Z. WilliamsonBoundary Crossed by Melissa F. OlsonThe Altar Girl by Orest StelmachTrail of Broken Wings by Sejal BadaniThis Thing Called Love by Miranda LiassonUprooted by Naomi NovikThe Field Trip by R.A. AndradeWriters of the Future Volume 31 by David FarlandRuins by Joshua WinningWitch of Death by Chrys FeyThe Teller by Jonathan StoneTraitor’s Gate by Charlie Newton#Selfie by Cambria HebertBlanche Cleans Up by Barbara NeelyA Witness Above by Andy StrakaA Killing Sky by Andy StrakaSusannah Screaming by Carolyn WestonHail Storme by W.L. RipleyThe Fall by John LescroartLittle Black Lies by Sharon BoltonSEAL Team Six: Hunt the Fox by Don Mann and Ralph PezzulloHouse of the Last Man on Earth by Robert B. Marcus, Jr. and Ryan B. MarcusBlown by Chuck BarrettFootsteps in the Sky by Greg KeyesBeautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuireNothing but Shadows by Cassandra ClareI Am Princess X by Cherie PriestThe Artisans by Julie ReeceThe Telling Stone by Maureen Doyle McQuerryRogue by Julie KagawaConstant Fear by Daniel PalmerRestore by Susan Kaye QuinnOcean City Cover-Up by Kim KashSaving Grapes by J.T. LundyMurder at Beechwood by Alyssa MaxwellLayers of Lace by Christine RainsCold Moon by Alexandra SokoloffParis Ransom by Charles RosenbergThe Last Moriarty by Charles VeleyThe Field of Blackbirds by Thomas RyanDead Woods by Maria C. PoetsGray Vengeance by Alan McDermottCold Fire by Dustin StevensOnly the Brave by Mel SherrattDrop Dead Perfect by Rick MurcerTrident Code by Thomas Waite
The full covers of Reborn and People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors have been nominated at Cover Cafe in their Two-Image Covers category. Voting runs from May 5-25. If you have a few minutes, then I'd really appreciate a vote. By the way, you must vote in three categories for your vote to count. Thank you!
And thank you so much to all who voted for Reborn in the 2015 RONE Awards - YA Paranormal category! I appreciate it!

#IWSG: A Year of Reborn / 2015 RONE Awards / Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Chapter 24

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the IWSG participants, please click here.

In May 2014, I published my very first novel Reborn. From idea to publication, it took eight years, and I have three more stories to tell within The Fate Challenges and many more from the world of Amora.

Overall, I am pleased with the novel I published. I thought the month-long blog tour went well. Reborn has a 4.8 star rating (20 reviews) on Amazon and 4.43 star rating on Goodreads. Over 700 people have it on their to-read list on Goodreads. It was a 2015 Finalist in the Fantasy Category in the EPIC awards and is up for a 2015 RONE award.

That said, there are things I would do differently if I had the chance. I wish I had all the books in The Fate Challenges written and in some state of editing before publishing Reborn. At the rate I'm going, it'll take me to 2017 to finish the series and that might be too optimistic at the rate I'm writing these days. I wish I had broken Part I into a novella and expanded the current Part II at the woodwose section. If I had done that, then I could have the novella (current Part I) up for free to draw people toward the series. I also feel like I short-changed the woodwose part in Reborn. I do plan to make it up to them in the bonus material in The Fate Challenges Boxed Set, but it would have been nice to have known how to fix that before publishing. I also wish I had put more money into ads and put Reborn up for a low introductory price instead of publishing it right away for $2.99 to draw early sales. Lastly, I wish I had Reborn in KDP Select for at least the first 90 days. Kindle Unlimited (KU) came out a couple months after Reborn, and I noticed how sales screeched to a halt. If I had been in Select and KU, then Reborn might not have lost what little momentum it had.

Despite wishing I could do things differently, I love Reborn and The Fate Challenges and hope people will find the novel and give it a try for years to come.

As I mentioned above, Reborn is up for the 2015 RONE Awards in YA - Paranormal category. Voting will take place May 4-10 (now) on the InD'Tale Magazine website. InD'Tale Magazine had reviewed Reborn back in September and gave it four stars. You do have to log-in/sign-up to vote, but it's worth it. The site has a great monthly magazine featuring interviews, book reviews, and more. It's great for writers and readers.

Also, I received an email on Tuesday that the full covers of Reborn and People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors have been nominated on Cover Cafe in the Two-Image Cover category. Voting takes place May 5-May 25.


Click  here  to start at the beginning or  here  to go to Chapter Twenty-Four.

2015 RONE Awards: Vote May 4-10 for Reborn by Cherie Reich (YA Paranormal)

Each year InD’tale Magazine honors the very best books in the Indie and Small publishing industry by awarding the prestigious RONE award.  To achieve this award, a book must go through the most comprehensive process in the industry today, with three distinct areas of focus.
All books in each given year (January 1st - December 31st) must have been read and reviewed by our professional staff of reviewers and be given a four star rating or higher to qualify as a nominee.All nominees must then be voted on by the reading public.  The books with the highest number of public votes will progress on to become finalists.The finalists will then be read by a group of industry professionals consisting of editors, writers, professors, etc. and be judged on a one to five scale from a specific list of requirements such as characterization, overall arc, editing, etc. Those scores will then be tallied by a professional company unrelated to InD’tale or its employees to determine the winner of the coveted RONE award, along with the honorable mentions.All awards are announced at the annual RONE award gala event and ceremony and given the beautiful Crystal RONE award. This is a formal but extremely fun and entertaining night for all, one that truly honors all Indie and Small published authors, readers, and professionals!Reborn has passed criteria #1 to be nominated in the Young Adult Paranormal category for a RONE award. Week Four of voting starts today (May 4) and goes through May 10 in the categories Novella, Chick Lit/Women's Fiction, and Young Adult: Paranormal. In order to vote, you must sign-up or log in to InD'Tale's website, go to InD'Scribe/RONEs tab - 2015 RONE Awards - 2015 RONE Awards Week Four . You have until May 10th to vote, and I would appreciate a vote for Reborn by Cherie Reich (me).

Writing Update: Once upon a Nightmare, May Goals, 2015 RONE Awards

Happy Wednesday! Boy, how can it be the fourth Wednesday already? The year is flying by.
April has been a rather challenging month, especially since I spent about two weeks of it sick. But I published Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection last week and am working on the blog tour/choose-your-own-adventure tour posts this week for May/June. I've only drawn one bookworm (my newsletter one) and hope to get one more (blog banner) finished before the end of the month.
Here are my May goals:
Revamp the Blog - A while ago, I decided my author tagline should be "Feeding your inner bookworm." I've been meaning to change the blog to reflect my tagline, but I've been slow in drawing the new images. I plan to continue to work on them in May.
Marked - So far I have two out of fifteen chapters written, but I'd like to be at the halfway mark by the end of next month.
Mayhem in the Air Story Edits - I'm one of the two editors for the Untethered Realms' Mayhem in the Air anthology (Forthcoming Fall 2015), so I hope to start editing these stories soon.

2015 Stats (1/1/2015-4/21/2015): 15,077 words written and 1,013 pages edited
Speaking of Untethered Realms, we're participating in the A-Z Challenge. Today is S day, and I have a teaser from Reborn on the blog.

Speaking of Reborn, I've discovered that Reborn is up for the 2015 RONE Awards in YA - Paranormal category. Voting will take place May 4-10 on the InD'Tale Magazine website. InD'Tale Magazine had reviewed Reborn back in September and gave it four stars. You do have to log-in/sign-up to vote, but it's worth it. The site has a great monthly magazine featuring interviews, book reviews, and more. It's great for writers and readers.

A legend awakens…My Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection is now available in print and ebook formats on Amazon. If you're a prime (Kindle Owner's Lending Library) or Kindle Unlimited member, then you can read it for free. The ebook is on sale for $0.99 until April 30th.

Falling for #SpecFic: Untethered Realms / Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Chapter 23

You may write or read speculative (spec) fiction (fic) and not even know it. Speculative fiction dwells in the realms of the what if and encompasses genres such as science fiction, alternative history, fantasy, horror, and more.
I'm part of a great group of SpecFic authors over at Untethered Realms. And this month we're taking part in the A-Z Challenge. So you may find a new book or two to add to your reading list. Today is my day, and I have a teaser from Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection. Although I'd hoped to have the collection published by now, it's almost ready. The virus from doom--or it may just be a cold--has attacked me and slowed my progress in my goals.
So head on over to Untethered Realms!
 Chapter Twenty-Three is here or start from the beginning here .
 Join us for #SpecFicChat on Twitter!
What happened to the future? The flying cars and time machines?
Hosted by @UnRealms and @EllieMGarratt
Next #SpecFicChat Fri. April 17th, Noon EDT.

Bookworm News

BOOK READAbove Us Only Sky by Michele Young-Stone
BOOK REVIEWAbove Us Only Sky by Michele Young-StonePrudence Vilkas yearns to understand what it means to be born with wings and who she is in Michele Young-Stone's Above Us Only Sky. Although I love fantasy, I don't read much literary magical realism, but the idea of women born with wings intrigued me. Young-Stone weaves a tale told from multiple characters spanning from the 1800s to more modern times. The main character is Prudence, a woman born with wings, ones considered a birth defect and removed. My heart went out to her and the other characters. They all longed for what was taken for them, from wings, to family members, to their Lithuanian homeland during war. Like a bird, the story touches down into a current timeline to only fly off again into the past. Although a little confusing and slow at times, the plot ties up well, all the little pieces coming together into a beautiful story. I also thought the bird imagery was perfect. Above Us Only Sky by Michele Young Stone sends the reader's imagination flying and is the wonderful read for people who enjoy history (World Wars and Eastern European) and complex family relationships with a touch of fantasy.
COVER REVEALTitle: A Change of Mind and Other StoriesAuthor: Nick WilfordGenre:Contemporary speculative fictionCover Design: Rebekah RomaniRelease Date: May 25, 2015
A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine.
In A Change of Mind, Reuben is an office worker so meek and mild he puts up with daily bullying from his boorish male colleagues as if it’s just a normal part of his day. But when a stranger points him in the direction of a surgeon offering a revolutionary new procedure, he can’t pass up the chance to turn his life around.
But this isn’t your average surgeon. For a start, he operates alone in a small room above a mechanic’s. And he promises to alter his patients’ personality so they can be anything they want to be…
In Marissa, a man who is determined to find evidence of his girlfriend’s infidelity ends up wondering if he should have left well alone.
The Dog God finds a chink in the armour of a man with a megalomaniacal desire to take over the world.
In The Insomniac, a man who leads an obsessively regimented lifestyle on one hour’s sleep a night finds a disruption to his routine doesn’t work for him.
Hole In One sees a dedicated golfer achieving a lifelong ambition.
The Loner ends the collection on a note of hope as two family members try to rebuild their lives after they are torn apart by jealousy.
Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working, he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. Nick is also the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. You can find him hanging out on his blog or on Goodreads or Twitter.
Preorder Links: Amazon US, Amazon UKAdd it on Goodreads

BOOKS RELEASING IN APRILSummer Queen by Amber Argyle
Dragon of the Stars by Alex J. Cavanaugh
The Horse Healer by Gonzalo Giner
A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall
All the Rage by Courtney Summers
Losing Faith by Adam Mitzner
Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich
Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn
The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob by Brooks Olbrys
Boko Haram by Mike Smith
Ivory Ghosts by Caitlin O’Connell
Medium Dead by Paula Paul
Officer Elvis by Gary M. Gusick
House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy
The Mercy of the Night by David Corbett
Threshold by G.M. Ford
Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) by Amy Spalding
Strangled Silence by Oisin McGann
Don’t Stay Up Late by R.L. Stine
Ghost of Death by Chrys Fey
The Calling by Joseph Eastwood
The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Liar's Bench by Kim Michele Richardson
Paradise City by CJ Duggan
Rogue by Julie Kagawa
The Whitechapel Fiend by Cassandra Clare
Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling
Bye, Bye Love by K.J. Larsen
Fury by Steven James
Last Call by J.A. Konrath
MirrorWorld by Jeremy Robinson
Enticed by J.A. Belfield
Salem's Fury by Aaron Galvin
Undercover Empath by RaShelle Workman
Uncharted Territory by Betsy Ashton

#IWSG: In the Red / Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Chapter 22

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the IWSG participants, please click here. The co-hosts are Suzanne Furness, Tonja Drecker, Toi Thomas, Rachna Chhabria, Fundy Blue, and Donna Hole.

Sales aren't where I'd hoped they'd be. I haven't made back the past couple years what I've put into my writing business. I can't keep publishing at a loss.

A lot of that is my fault. Social anxiety in combination with a lack of confidence means I don't market my work like I should. I blame no one but myself, but that means while I take steps to increase marketing, I also have to make my work support itself. The day job barely pays the bills, after all, especially while I still have car and student loans to pay off.

I will use my own money to finish up the book covers of The Fate Challenges, which means I'll only be publishing in ebook format at first and using a cheaper cover artist. If sales don't pick up, I won't have my own money to put into publishing new work until 2020.

It doesn't mean I won't be writing. I have many things in the pipeline for years to come. Yet it makes me nervous to have to take some time off from publishing. I know it may hurt my sales now not to keep publishing more regularly, but eventually it'll turn around. Maybe.

What are your insecurities this month?

And good luck to all participating in the A-Z Challenge. I'm participating with the authors over at Untethered Realms. My days are M and S.


Click  here  to start at the beginning or  here  to go to Chapter Twenty-Two.