Gwen Gardner's Blog, page 12

IWSG, Nightmares and Backworlds

It's the first Wednesday of the month and that means it's Insecure Writer's Support Group day. If you want to join this awesome group, go HERE. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this monthly event and a big shout out to all who help make this event happen every month.

Also, welcome to what has become my monthly blog post. Sad, but true, it seems. I don't want to post if I can't comment and return visits. And since I've had to prioritize, if it's a choice between working on my next novel and blogging, then the novel writing wins. I know you can all relate.

When I win the Time Lotto, I'll do more blogging.

So on to my insecurity. I'm actually feeling pretty good about what I'm doing. I've read several books on craft recently and have a couple of outlines started. I need to get more organized and combine what I've learned into something that works best for me. I've actually started writing, because whichever outline version I use, they start out the same. Beginning the writing process has eased my anxiety about not getting any writing done.  I feel good about it, so it's all good!

How's your writing life going?
  Even though I'm not getting a lot done, I know some awesome writers who are! Check these out:  Precipice by M. Pax    

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. 

  Sounds awesome, right? Well, here's another interesting bit from the main character, Craze: Question: What is the most expensive drink in the Backworlds? Craze:  Hot chocolate. A tiny bar of chocolate can buy you a spaceship in the Backworlds. Not a top of the line deal, but a working spaceship all the same.  Buy links: Amazon / B&N / iBook / Googleplay / Smashwords / Kobo / Other And, Once Upon A Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich   

A monster hunts us. After hibernating for a decade, it’s ravenous. We long to stop this nightmare, but the end of the road is far. There is no waking up once a legend sets its sights on you.

Disappearances every ten or so years make little impact on the small town of New Haven, Virginia. Hikers get lost. Hunters lose the trail. Even when a body is discovered, the inhabitants’ memories last about as long as the newspaper articles.

No one connects the cases. No one notices the disappearances go back beyond Civil War times. No one believes a legendary monster roams the forests in Southwestern Virginia.

I don’t either until the truck breaks down on an old mountain trail. Cell phones won’t work in this neck of the woods. It’s amazing how much a person can see by starlight alone. So what if we can’t feel our fingers or toes as we hike toward the main road. How many more miles left to go?

Crrraaack!

Hear that noise?

I'm shivering already!  Purchase Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich at Amazon.     How's your writing going?   Got any good book recommendations to share?  

IWSG: Behind My Time

Well that was the fastest April in history! I took the month off from this blog, but participated in the 2015 A-Z Blogging Challenge with Untethered Realms. I think it's pretty darn cool that bloggers do this every year. It's a chance to touch base with old blogging friends and meet new ones. All in all, it's quite the success!



So, onto the business of May, and in particular the first Wednesday of the month when members of the Insecure Writer's Support Group post about writerly stuff. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and his minions for hosting this every month and making sure that hundreds of writers receive a supportive visit.

After publishing three books I wanted to up my game by learning more about pacing and writing a better book. I read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and learned a lot. Even though it's for screenwriters, it's a great tool for any writer. Then I heard about Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker. Both are basically the same premise, but TOYP is specifically for writers. I'm learning a lot, even though most of what I've read I already knew, just never really applied it, at least not in an organized manner.

So, what's my problem? I've gotten no writing done this year. Just bits and pieces. I keep telling myself I'm investing in learning time to become a better writer. But I'm getting antsy because, well, I haven't written anything! I thought I'd get a book out this year, but now it's May and I'm thinking maybe not. Probably not! I feel like I'm behind in my time, as Scrooge accused Marley in A Christmas Carol. *big sigh*

Thanks for listening!

What's your writing insecurity this month? Did you participate in the A-Z Challenge?

April Fun!

Happy A - Z Blog Challenge 2015!   
I'm doing the A - Z with my buddies over at the Untethered Realms blog. We're doing graphics with lines from our books or WIPs. They're pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  Hope you can stop by!  *****
Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Day!


Now to the Insecure Writer's Support Group post. If you want to sign up, go HERE. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting every month, and a special thanks to this month's minions,The awesome  Suzanne Furness, Tonja Drecker, Toi Thomas, Rachna Chhabria, Fundy Blue, and Donna Hole!
 

I'll keep it short in case you want to slip over to Untethered Realms. My only complaint is....wait for it (LOL)....TIME! No big surprise, right? Summer is my busy season at work (Why yes, it is summer in San Diego right now! Inland, where I live, we're already reaching 90 degree temps) which, when you're in the swimming pool business, means long hours and too tired to do anything in the evenings except sip on a glass of wine.
And because it's also April Fool's Day, I thought you might like a couple of jokes! How many science fiction writers does it take to change a light bulb? Two, but it's actually the same person doing it. He went back in time and met himself in the doorway and then the first one sat on the other one's shoulder so that they were able to reach it. Then a major time paradox occurred and the entire room, light bulb, changer and all was blown out of existence.
And another oldie but goodie...


How many mystery writers does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to screw the bulb almost all the way in, and one to give a surprising twist at the end. ***** I guess I'm a Weekend Writing Warrior now.  How about you?Are you doing the A-Z? P.S. this blog is on hiatus for the month of April! But! I'll still be lurking...

The Real Elizabeth Seckman!

I'm so happy to have the marrrvelous Elizabeth Seckman here today. Her son interviewed her and if you have kids, you know how direct and to the point they can be. We all know Elizabeth because of the awesome romances she writes. She has a new one out, by the way.  You can check it out below. But there is no doubt about what's important to Elizabeth...


My son, Cole, interviewed me (his darling sweet mother) for a class he was taking and here's what he came up with...

I was born in Barberton, Ohio...a city south of Cleveland. Moved to Middlebourne (a tiny town without a redlight or a crosswalk) when I was a few weeks old...hence the nickname...Grit...my parents shamefully turned a Buckeye into a Grit.

School years...I practiced basketball...did one year of track in order to stalk their father...found him offensive and berated him for the next three years, then asked him to prom...on to college...went on scholarship, worked as a cashier, a waitress, did some catering (fancy waitressing in heels and a skirt), then went to work as an resident advisor...graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Went to work. Did case management then family preservation for at risk youth...had four kids then quit to raise them.

"Soooo, you ever feel like once you had us, you sort of became, well, just a mom?" Cole asked.

Short answer. YES.

BUT....Nothing in this world compares to being a mom. Raising my kids hasn't been an afterthought. It's not something I've done on my way to something else. If I die tomorrow and I've done nothing more than raise good kids, then I die successful.

"Soooo, if I start using drugs, you're a failure?"

Short answer. NO.

I don't exppect my kids to be perfect. I expect they'll have their share of screw ups.

But as a mom, I will be right there to hold their hands...or put a foot in their butts. I'll do whatever it takes to move them from childhood to adulthood with as few scars and as many advantages as possible.

Cause I am a mom...that's what I do.



The Blurb:
Jo Leigh Harper comes from a long line of trouble-making, white trash stock.Tanner Coulter comes from a longer line of wealth-creating, blue blood stock.Jo graduated college top of her class, moving toward a future full of possibilities.Tanner dropped out of college, trading a law degree for drinking games and one night stands.
A family crisis throws the rich party boy and the poor genius girl together. The attraction is immediate, though neither one is a heart-in-the-sand-drawing believer in true love. But as the summer sun heats up along the shores of the Outer Banks, so does the connection between them. Maybe, just maybe, they can win at love by defying reason.
 Author Bio:
Elizabeth is a multi-published author of books for people who are believers in happily-ever- after, true love, and stories with a bit of fun and twists with their plots. The mother of four young men, she tackles laundry daily and is the keeper of the kitchen. She lives along the shores of the Ohio River in West Virginia, but dreams daily of the beach. 


Facebook/ Blog/ Website/ Buy Link

IWSG: Book Building

  The first Wednesday of the month is Insecure Writer's Support Group Day, where writers confess their writing fears and woes. If you want to sign up, go HERE. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and this month's co-hosts, Chemist Ken, Suzanne Sapseed, and Shannon Lawrence!


Things are going well for me so far this year. I haven't gotten a lot of actual writing done, but I read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, and WOW! I love what he has to say and how he organizes his work. As someone who appreciates organization and writes outlines before I can begin to write a book, his book was an eye opener. And not only organization, but a system to insure that each scene has emotion and conflict.

It's a slow process and I've found myself getting anxious that I'm not getting any actual writing done. Then I reminded myself that I don't need to be in a hurry. The only deadlines are in my head. That a good story takes a lot of planning in order to work, at least for a plotter like me. Now pantzers are another story...

The truth is, I'm enjoying this process of basically "book building" immensely (even though it's for screenwriting, it's an excellent tool for a novelist). By the time I through planning, I figure the story will be in place and the only thing left to do will be the actual writing.

I'll let you know how it's goes.

How's your writing life going?

Magick is in the Air! Where Will It Lead?

I loved Alligators Overhead and can't wait to dig into this one! Check it out...     AMAZON

There's nothing’s more dangerous than a wizard-in-training. And Pete Riley, has just proven it. He's worked a bad time spell--a very bad time spell.
No YouTube, no smoothies, no Manga. Not ever again. Not unless Pete figures out how to reverse his spell and free Weasel and him from Victorian England. 

He has until the next full moon. Only a few days.

Tick. Tock.



Here’s how the story starts, and it only gets worse.
One minute the clock was tick-tocking on the mantel and the next it was a smoldering mess.

“No,”�Harriet shouted. Then she braced one hand on her desk and covered her eyes with the other.

Pete froze, not blinking, not breathing, but waiting to see if Harriet would point one of her long, bony fingers at him and turn him into a turnip or something slimy.



SEQUEL TO ALLIGATORS OVERHEADTo celebrate the launch of The Great Time Lock Disaster I'm giving 20 eBooks away. Hope you'll jump in to the copter and go for a ride!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Usually, C. Lee takes on modern issues that today's teens face in their daily lives. Her first young adult novel, Sliding on the Edge, which dealt with cutting and suicide was published in 2009. Her second, titled The Princess of Las Pulgas, dealing with a family who loses everything and must rebuild their lives came out in 2010. Double Negative (2014) was her third young adult novel. Researching it turned her into a literacy advocate. Her fourth YA, Sudden Secrets came out in December 2014. 


When she really want to have FUN, she writes middle grade books. Alligators Overhead and The Great Time Lock Disaster are now available.

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Spontaneous or Supernatural?

Now I've heard of spontaneous combustion, but if it happens more than once within a short period of time within a certain range? You know it's not a coincidence. It's not some isolated chemical reaction.
 So what if this perfect storm of ingredients happened?  What could it mean?  Something supernatural, for sure. Check out Julie Flanders' new release,   Polar Day ....
Book Blurb:

The midnight sun bakes Fairbanks, Alaska as residents gather for the annual summer solstice baseball game. Amidst the revelry and raucous shouts of “Play ball,” a spark alights and a jogger bursts into flames. Detective Danny Fitzpatrick, still reeling from his near death at the hands of vampire Aleksei Nechayev, watches in horror as the man burns alive.
Someone is burning Fairbanks and its residents and leaving nothing but smoldering embers behind. As the city sweats under a record-breaking heatwave and unexplained fires claim more victims, Danny and his colleagues struggle to find an arsonist who can conjure fire out of thin air.
To Danny’s horror, the only one who may be able to help him stop the arsonist is his nemesis Nechayev. Will the vampire help in the hunt for a witch?      Available on Amazon
  
Author Bio:  
Julie Flanders is a librarian by day and a writer all the rest of the time. She is also a television show addict with a particular fondness for Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead and a slightly obsessive sports fan who cheers for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Reds. Julie is an animal lover and animal rescue advocate who shares her home with her rescued dog and cat. She has written about the joys of pets for outlets such as Cat Fancy, Thrive in Life, and Best Friends Animal Society. Visit Julie at julieflanders.net.
 
Julie's Links
Website  / Blog  / Twitter  / Facebook  / Goodreads     What do you think?   Spontaneous?   Supernatural?   Super Fun?  
 
 
 

18 "Paranormal" Thoughts on the Blog Today

If you've been a follower of mine for any length of time, you know I luurve the paranormal. Especially ghosties. They have a lifetime of stories and experience to share, and then in the afterlife, they learn a whole lot more about the world we really live in. Stranger than fiction stuff happens, like the scene below picked by Jamie Ayres, from her new book, 18 Thoughts, especially for my followers. You know Olga needs saving in that last line - but from what kind of otherworldly phenomena or thing?

 === Thanks so much to the gracious Gwen Gardner for hosting me on my blog tour to celebrate the final release in the My So-Called Afterlife Trilogy, 18 THOUGHTS! Since Gwen’s blog focuses on the paranormal, I’m sharing a paranormal scene from my latest YA release. Enjoy!
I tried getting to him, but the air shifted. Suddenly, I felt like I was spinning on a merry-go-round. The ground vibrated, and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck lifted, a heightening awareness taking over. I let out a raspy breath as super dark clouds, almost pitch black in color, raced across the overcast sky above me. Increased heat despite the winter defrosted my numb fingers and toes. The change in air pressure made my ears pop like I was on an airplane.
Debris scraped my skin, an unseen force stirring up the dirt and making the woods quiver. Trees broke in half in the shrieking wind, some ripped up by the roots, blocking my path to the protection of my square. As my toboggan blew off, I wondered distantly if all of Grand Haven was under attack or just us. All of hell seemed to be fighting, and the vortex felt like it’d rip my hair right off my head, too, my long strands stinging my face.
I straightened to full height, and stared down the storm and the demons causing it. Supernatural strength I couldn’t explain helped me rush against the wind and jump over fallen trees. Olga stood just outside the square, shivering in her puffy coat. She whipped her head toward me, her eyes wide and pleading but still the color of utter darkness.
*Note: I had to alter the scene a bit so I wouldn’t spoil anything. Was it Conner or Nate’s perspective? And why does Olga need saving? You’ll just have to read to find out!
 


 
Olga Gay Worontzoff left the Underworld anxious to return to normal, but fate had other plans; now she’s caught in a world that’s a mix of familiar and supernatural, torn between past and present. CHECK OUT THE BOOK TRAILER...   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYpVf1zxrE8
 
Amazon           B&N      Goodreads AND, GUESS WHAT?! THE PRECURSOR, 18 THINGS, IS FREE ON AMAZON FEBRUARY 16TH AND 17TH!   

IWSG: What's the Rush?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is where writers of all levels, beginning or advanced, share their insecurities and receive advice and encouragement. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.
Want to lend support? Or sign up? Go HERE.  Guess who's taking their turn co-hosting? ME! Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this event every month.
 Thanks to my fellow co-hosts this month: Sarah FosterDonna HoleM. Pax  My Insecurity:  Writers really put a lot of pressure on themselves. Not just the traditionally published, either. Every self-publisher I know is just as serious about their calling as any other writer. Our deadlines are self-imposed, but every bit as real. I usually set some hefty goals. In fact, I did set some hefty goals. But in learning about who my new characters are and discovering more about the world in which they live, I decided I need more time. The rush and pressure to publish isn't doing me any good. It's definitely not making my writing better. Instead of publishing a three-novella series, I might just publish one or two of the novellas. The important thing is that I'm enjoying the process without all the pressure.   Sound like a good plan?   HOW IS YOUR WRITING GOING?  (If you get a chance, check out my post at Untethered Realms.  It's about how I discovered a solution to a writing problem. Not an insecurity, really, but about how I was able to begin moving forward again.)  

A Dose of Cuteness

A very happy Monday to you all!
I missed posting last week. You know, for a writer, sometimes I have very little to say. Lots of stuff swirls around in my brain, of course, but you can't really say some of that madness out loud, LOL. I guess I'm in a bit of a slump. Everything's been said before. I have nothing new to bring to the table.

Blah, blah, blah.  So how about a dose of cuteness instead?   Koko is a very good swimmer. Or as my daughter says, "Fat Floats"   Tuffy prefers the snow.
    They both enjoy squirrel watching.  And to show I'm not biased, there's always this... 
 ...which we found on our property in 2011.   Koko and Tuffy found this precious little thing. Then they just sat down next to him, being good as gold. Didn't even think about trying to chase him. (Unlike the squirrels!)   What's new with you?   P.S., I'm at Untethered Realms tomorrow.