Brenda Corey Dunne's Blog, page 2
January 17, 2017
Teaser Tuesday: SKIN Sequel
I've been typing away at SKIN #2, tentatively called SWIM, and it's going surprisingly well. This sequel thing is not my forté, but I hope to keep picking away at it to get the sequel out this year.
We'll see.
Ocean and Sam are back, but there's all sorts of trouble in selkie-land, A.K.A. Prince Edward Island. Starting with Ocean's mom. Here's a sneak peek:
“What is the problem tonight?” He’s beautiful sitting there in the dim porch light, freckles barely showing. “You,” I say.“Me?”“Yes, you. It seems she’s having second thoughts about my ‘involvement’ with a nasty Black.”His grin stays, but the corners of his eyes shift. He doesn’t like to be associated with his father. “Well, that is a problem.” He faces the water, the lilt in his voice coming out more because he’s upset. Like Irish music playing to the tune of his emotions.“I told her I wasn’t an ‘involvement’,” I say.This catches him, and he turns back to face me again. “No?”I try not to smile. “No. Involvement is too businesslike. I told her it was lust.”
If only life could stay that simple, huh? Don't worry, things don't stay fun and simple for long. I'm 165 pages in, and Ocean and Sam are in a lovely mess. Unfortunately you'll have to wait to find out what that means.
Enjoy your day!
Brenda
January 16, 2017
The Bar Code Tattoo and LFB Reviews
One of the nasty (or beneficial, depending how you look at it) things about following my military husband from place to place in what seems like a never-ending sequence of moves is that sometimes it takes a while to re-employ myself. Being a physiotherapist by trade, usually this is just a matter of filling out the paperwork for the local licensing board, putting my name out to a few places looking for PTs, and voila! I have a job. Often it's faster than I'd like it be, sometimes it's not. Being a Canadian in a different country, I need a little more than proof of my degree and experience. I need THE CARD. This card is not easy coming. In fact, it's been a bit of a challenge.
So, to make a long story short, five months into our new living arrangements, I remain unemployed.
Don't take this as I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I'm not. I'm writing. I'm social-mediaing. I'm still spending several hours a week on Canadian volunteer positions I haven't given up. The social obligations of being married to my husband are not to be taken lightly. I drive a mean SUV in the high school kiss and go lanes, and am an avid supporter of extra-curriculars. I am the opposite of a twiddler.
But still, I need something to focus my days and the extra funds in our bank account do not hurt. So I wait.
In my quest to fill my days with unpaid meaningful things while awaiting the chance at doing paid meaningful things, I sort of fell into a volunteer position. I was dropping off books at the local library's donation box (by necessity, not by desire--there was literally no room on any of our bookshelves), and the lovely woman who was in charge of the Library Friends said they were looking for volunteers and gave me their info.
Books, organization, self-determined hours? What's not to love about that? My junior high school-day friends will remember the wonders of being a library helper (oh, the power of charging a late fee! Getting first dibs at new books! And first looks at the Scholastic book fair!) and my librarian friends (I have a surprising amount of friends with Library Science degrees) will appreciate the joy of putting a book on a shelf exactly where it belongs--well, in my current situation, where I THINK it belongs. Library Friends Bookshop is only slightly picky about things like alphabetization.
So starting two weeks ago, I walked into a room full of crazily disorganized donated books and began my journey as a Library Friend Bookshop (LFB) volunteer.
Now I will preface what I hope will be many blog posts by saying that I had no idea, when I signed up, that one of the perks was an honour system of hours worked = books. I just thought the act of organizing and selling donated books would provide me with a different view of the book world, introduce me to other bibliophiles, and perhaps expose me to books I had never noticed before, later to be signed out or purchased (very cheaply) for my personal reading pleasure. Imagine, doing something you enjoy, and getting 'paid' in something else you enjoy?
There are just SO. MANY. BOOKS. What is a girl to do, but read them? So I've vowed to bring home a few a week (and likely return them, as there is still no room on my bookshelves) and challenge myself to read differently. To read books I wouldn't normally pick up. To expand my brain, while waiting for meaningful employment.
I figure the least I can do is tell you my thoughts about them.
And so...thus begins the LFB Reviews*.
Week 1
The Bar Code Tattoo
YA Dystopian
by Suzanne Weyn
It's no secret that the world is a wee bit shaken up right now. 2016 was a year of bizarreness. And this week is, without a doubt, going to go down in history. How that history will play out has been wildly speculated, and I am not the one to discuss the pros and cons of any side. But the last few months have felt mildly dystopian. And with one of my yet-unsold finished manuscripts dealing with similar world-gone-crazy scenarios, this book jumped out at me on the shelf as I was trying to cram two Harry Potter books and a Maze Runner book in beside it. I've seen it before, and was curious...but not curious enough to buy it. Yet there it was, in the pile of crazy mixed up MG and YA. Not hugely out of my comfort zone, but not something I would normally have purchased. And then, SURPRISE!, it jumped into my pile and came home with me.
I wish I could say I loved this book. I really do. I wanted to love this book, I wanted it to be the first of a love affair with Library Friends Bookshop literature. The premise is so real right now--adults (over 17) being forced to be tattooed and DNA typed and having their entire lives dictated by said tattoo and the company which administered it. It could happen. It's a strong storyline.
But the book got mired in relationships and when the main character, Kayla, started having visions and speaking telepathically with a mystical leader of the Resistance. At that point, I found it increasingly hard to follow. And it seemed less and less realistic. There were some deep questions--Should our genetics dictate our employment, our livelihood, our existence? And some scary possibilities, including that of a society which 'euthanizes' its elderly. Frightening and thought provoking. But the writing did not highlight those issues, and sadly I had to fight to finish the book.
On a scale of Total Keeper (10) to Back to the LFB Post-Haste (1)?
I give it a 4/10. I'll take this one back for someone else to enjoy.
Enjoy the week, folks. From where I sit, it's bound to be a doozy.
Brenda
*Please note, the views on this blog are my own, and do not, in any way, indicate opinions of the Library Friends, the Canadian Forces or anyone. They are mine. Also note, I tend to be perfectly awful at regular blogging. You probably know this already, but I warn you in advance that there will likely be weeks I miss. Maybe months I miss. So I apologize in advance.
So, to make a long story short, five months into our new living arrangements, I remain unemployed.Don't take this as I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I'm not. I'm writing. I'm social-mediaing. I'm still spending several hours a week on Canadian volunteer positions I haven't given up. The social obligations of being married to my husband are not to be taken lightly. I drive a mean SUV in the high school kiss and go lanes, and am an avid supporter of extra-curriculars. I am the opposite of a twiddler.
But still, I need something to focus my days and the extra funds in our bank account do not hurt. So I wait.
In my quest to fill my days with unpaid meaningful things while awaiting the chance at doing paid meaningful things, I sort of fell into a volunteer position. I was dropping off books at the local library's donation box (by necessity, not by desire--there was literally no room on any of our bookshelves), and the lovely woman who was in charge of the Library Friends said they were looking for volunteers and gave me their info.
Books, organization, self-determined hours? What's not to love about that? My junior high school-day friends will remember the wonders of being a library helper (oh, the power of charging a late fee! Getting first dibs at new books! And first looks at the Scholastic book fair!) and my librarian friends (I have a surprising amount of friends with Library Science degrees) will appreciate the joy of putting a book on a shelf exactly where it belongs--well, in my current situation, where I THINK it belongs. Library Friends Bookshop is only slightly picky about things like alphabetization.
So starting two weeks ago, I walked into a room full of crazily disorganized donated books and began my journey as a Library Friend Bookshop (LFB) volunteer.
Now I will preface what I hope will be many blog posts by saying that I had no idea, when I signed up, that one of the perks was an honour system of hours worked = books. I just thought the act of organizing and selling donated books would provide me with a different view of the book world, introduce me to other bibliophiles, and perhaps expose me to books I had never noticed before, later to be signed out or purchased (very cheaply) for my personal reading pleasure. Imagine, doing something you enjoy, and getting 'paid' in something else you enjoy?There are just SO. MANY. BOOKS. What is a girl to do, but read them? So I've vowed to bring home a few a week (and likely return them, as there is still no room on my bookshelves) and challenge myself to read differently. To read books I wouldn't normally pick up. To expand my brain, while waiting for meaningful employment.
I figure the least I can do is tell you my thoughts about them.
And so...thus begins the LFB Reviews*.
Week 1
The Bar Code Tattoo
YA Dystopian
by Suzanne Weyn
It's no secret that the world is a wee bit shaken up right now. 2016 was a year of bizarreness. And this week is, without a doubt, going to go down in history. How that history will play out has been wildly speculated, and I am not the one to discuss the pros and cons of any side. But the last few months have felt mildly dystopian. And with one of my yet-unsold finished manuscripts dealing with similar world-gone-crazy scenarios, this book jumped out at me on the shelf as I was trying to cram two Harry Potter books and a Maze Runner book in beside it. I've seen it before, and was curious...but not curious enough to buy it. Yet there it was, in the pile of crazy mixed up MG and YA. Not hugely out of my comfort zone, but not something I would normally have purchased. And then, SURPRISE!, it jumped into my pile and came home with me.
I wish I could say I loved this book. I really do. I wanted to love this book, I wanted it to be the first of a love affair with Library Friends Bookshop literature. The premise is so real right now--adults (over 17) being forced to be tattooed and DNA typed and having their entire lives dictated by said tattoo and the company which administered it. It could happen. It's a strong storyline.
But the book got mired in relationships and when the main character, Kayla, started having visions and speaking telepathically with a mystical leader of the Resistance. At that point, I found it increasingly hard to follow. And it seemed less and less realistic. There were some deep questions--Should our genetics dictate our employment, our livelihood, our existence? And some scary possibilities, including that of a society which 'euthanizes' its elderly. Frightening and thought provoking. But the writing did not highlight those issues, and sadly I had to fight to finish the book.
On a scale of Total Keeper (10) to Back to the LFB Post-Haste (1)?
I give it a 4/10. I'll take this one back for someone else to enjoy.
Enjoy the week, folks. From where I sit, it's bound to be a doozy.
Brenda
*Please note, the views on this blog are my own, and do not, in any way, indicate opinions of the Library Friends, the Canadian Forces or anyone. They are mine. Also note, I tend to be perfectly awful at regular blogging. You probably know this already, but I warn you in advance that there will likely be weeks I miss. Maybe months I miss. So I apologize in advance.
January 12, 2017
Book Release! All the Way Home
Adult romance BY KIM MILLS
So a while back (five years ago? Maybe more?) I started following a sassy Canadian soldier's wife (@reccewife) on Twitter. She shot from the hip, and told it like it was, and I liked her style. Her resolution to treat people to dinner while her husband was deployed was intriguing. And her blog posts were poignant and real.
Fast forward a few years, and Kim and I have become virtual friends through several other platforms, including a group of Canadian military bloggers on Facebook. She recently MC'd a national event to mark the 25th Anniversary of Canadian Military Family Services. And her name has been mentioned more than once since I arrived in the US--she had spoken the year before to Canadian military families here in the US National Capitol region.
While managing a busy family, a well-visited blog, speaking engagements and a meaningful life as a military spouse, Kim has written a novel--a Canadian military romance novel, to be exact. And I'm so happy to be able to support her as she releases it to the public today. In her words:
"I wrote this book because I wanted to read a story about average Canadian combat soldiers and the people who loved them during the war in Afghanistan.
I’m hoping that maybe there’s a few others out there who were looking for stories like that, too."
Kim's bio:
Kim Mills intended to grow up to be a psychologist with a loft apartment and 3 cats. Instead she dropped out of college and married a teenage soldier and had babies. No one ever asks her to speak on career day.
After working and volunteering in Social Services for years, Kim began writing in 2011 on what is now the Canadian military family blog She is Fierce. Somehow, that led her here. No one is more surprised than she is.
You can find Kim with the childhood sweetheart she's been married to for over 15 years, along with her 3 kids and their border collie Trooper, making home wherever the army sends them.
ALL THE WAY HOME is book one of a series of books (The Way Home Series), and today is it's Book Birthday!
More about the book (from Amazon):
Juliette has been walking through life broken and hurting for years, always relying on her friend Tavish to be there for her when she needs him. As soon as he met her, Tavish knew he would do anything for her, that is, until he enlists in the infantry and leaves town, and possibly Juliette, for good.
Soon the events of 9/11 change everything, and an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan prompts him to reconnect with Juliette 5 years later. Despite the time apart she soon finds herself leaning on him again as their reunion leads to something much more. That’s when tragedy strikes during his deployment, and Tavish comes home shattered. Is Juliette strong enough to offer him the support he has always given her? Will it be enough for both of them to find their way home?
All The Way Home is a Canadian-based military love story, the first in the Way Home series but is a stand-alone with it's own HEA.
This book is intended for audiences 18+. For those dealing with combat related PTSD, some scenes may be triggering.
You can purchase ALL THE WAY HOME on Amazon. And find out more about Kim on her blog: She is Fierce which is well worth a read.
Congratulations Kim!
Brenda
So a while back (five years ago? Maybe more?) I started following a sassy Canadian soldier's wife (@reccewife) on Twitter. She shot from the hip, and told it like it was, and I liked her style. Her resolution to treat people to dinner while her husband was deployed was intriguing. And her blog posts were poignant and real.
Fast forward a few years, and Kim and I have become virtual friends through several other platforms, including a group of Canadian military bloggers on Facebook. She recently MC'd a national event to mark the 25th Anniversary of Canadian Military Family Services. And her name has been mentioned more than once since I arrived in the US--she had spoken the year before to Canadian military families here in the US National Capitol region.
While managing a busy family, a well-visited blog, speaking engagements and a meaningful life as a military spouse, Kim has written a novel--a Canadian military romance novel, to be exact. And I'm so happy to be able to support her as she releases it to the public today. In her words:"I wrote this book because I wanted to read a story about average Canadian combat soldiers and the people who loved them during the war in Afghanistan.
I’m hoping that maybe there’s a few others out there who were looking for stories like that, too."
Kim's bio:
Kim Mills intended to grow up to be a psychologist with a loft apartment and 3 cats. Instead she dropped out of college and married a teenage soldier and had babies. No one ever asks her to speak on career day.
After working and volunteering in Social Services for years, Kim began writing in 2011 on what is now the Canadian military family blog She is Fierce. Somehow, that led her here. No one is more surprised than she is.
You can find Kim with the childhood sweetheart she's been married to for over 15 years, along with her 3 kids and their border collie Trooper, making home wherever the army sends them.
ALL THE WAY HOME is book one of a series of books (The Way Home Series), and today is it's Book Birthday!
More about the book (from Amazon):
Juliette has been walking through life broken and hurting for years, always relying on her friend Tavish to be there for her when she needs him. As soon as he met her, Tavish knew he would do anything for her, that is, until he enlists in the infantry and leaves town, and possibly Juliette, for good.Soon the events of 9/11 change everything, and an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan prompts him to reconnect with Juliette 5 years later. Despite the time apart she soon finds herself leaning on him again as their reunion leads to something much more. That’s when tragedy strikes during his deployment, and Tavish comes home shattered. Is Juliette strong enough to offer him the support he has always given her? Will it be enough for both of them to find their way home?
All The Way Home is a Canadian-based military love story, the first in the Way Home series but is a stand-alone with it's own HEA.
This book is intended for audiences 18+. For those dealing with combat related PTSD, some scenes may be triggering.
You can purchase ALL THE WAY HOME on Amazon. And find out more about Kim on her blog: She is Fierce which is well worth a read.
Congratulations Kim!
Brenda
January 10, 2017
Teaser Tuesday: SKIN
Ahhhh. Coffee by my side, warm golden retriever at my feet, kids at school, hubby at work and a whole day of writing and organizing things ahead of me. Nice.
Step one is to get some blog posts up and running. I spent most of the pre-Christmas build up getting Dependent's 2nd Edition back up and online, so I thought I'd give my new release some love today.
Here in Virginia it's cold and snowy and as much as it's nice to see the snow, I'm missing warm days on the beach. I love my golden retriever foot-warmer, but hot sand is so wonderful! And a nice cold lemony drink....sigh. I'm also working on the sequel to Skin...and the northern Atlantic beaches aren't so warm in October and November. Brrr! No wonder I need that coffee.
PEI in summertime...
To fortify you on the cold, dark days of winter, here's a little beachy teaser from Chapter 1 of Skin:
...When I get to the edge, Declan’s puny frame is already knee deep in one of the pools, and all I can think about is how good the water will feel on my toes. Wet sand is not satisfying at all. I want the real thing.Then, like it’s some big event that I’ve been waiting my whole life for, I step in. The water reacts.
It’s like a brain slap. A sense of recognition hits me, and a roll of emotion I’m not ready for swells up from under my feet, shocking me right to my chest. I gasp and step back, almost tripping over my own feet in my haste.
Hmmm...what's happening there? If you want to read more, and haven't already purchased my latest YA, you can find Skin on Amazon HERE. Don't forget to review it when you've finished!
Happy Tuesday!
Brenda
Step one is to get some blog posts up and running. I spent most of the pre-Christmas build up getting Dependent's 2nd Edition back up and online, so I thought I'd give my new release some love today.
Here in Virginia it's cold and snowy and as much as it's nice to see the snow, I'm missing warm days on the beach. I love my golden retriever foot-warmer, but hot sand is so wonderful! And a nice cold lemony drink....sigh. I'm also working on the sequel to Skin...and the northern Atlantic beaches aren't so warm in October and November. Brrr! No wonder I need that coffee.
PEI in summertime...To fortify you on the cold, dark days of winter, here's a little beachy teaser from Chapter 1 of Skin:
...When I get to the edge, Declan’s puny frame is already knee deep in one of the pools, and all I can think about is how good the water will feel on my toes. Wet sand is not satisfying at all. I want the real thing.Then, like it’s some big event that I’ve been waiting my whole life for, I step in. The water reacts.
It’s like a brain slap. A sense of recognition hits me, and a roll of emotion I’m not ready for swells up from under my feet, shocking me right to my chest. I gasp and step back, almost tripping over my own feet in my haste. Hmmm...what's happening there? If you want to read more, and haven't already purchased my latest YA, you can find Skin on Amazon HERE. Don't forget to review it when you've finished!
Happy Tuesday!
Brenda
January 6, 2017
New Year, Same Me.
Snapchat improved meMy kids have gotten me onto Snapchat. So, I suck at it...forget to send things, send them to the wrong person, navigate the wrong way... I'm not a teenager anymore and the whole thing boggles me a bit. But it's a great way to connect with my three teens--especially the one in college. I was 'snapping' her on New Years Day, and one of the filters that came up said. "New Year, New Me!", all bubbly and smiley and celebratory--like it was super-cool to change everything up about my life and show it in one bizarre deer-faced picture.
Not so improved.I cringed. Really. I should have used it and saved it and shared it here like a super-cool snappy mom, but I was so weirded out, I flipped on and forgot to send the snap in the first place. I get that the idea was to change all of those horrible things about myself...starting right then. Um, no. I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions. I've mentioned it before here on the blog, and my dislike hasn't changed. Why set yourself up with unattainable lists of distant possibilities? The NEW ME is skinny and organized and goes to the gym and has a spotless house and makes a five-layer cake every Tuesday! Even if I liked baking five-layer cakes, I could never eat the whole cake and stay skinny. ;)I am, however, a huge fan of making goals and ATTEMPTING to stick with them, recognizing that circumstances change, and sometimes it's just not possible to reach those goals in a year.
What I also love about New Years is the opportunity a new year brings to reflect upon the previous one, and recognize just how much has been accomplished. When things get busy I forget to celebrate the smaller achievements, and they add up! 2016 was a crazy year, that's for sure, but a lot of good and exciting things happened in the many aspects of my somewhat crazy life. Here's Dunne-central's list of good things from 2016 in rough chronological order...
*Watched as the wonderful Canadian Military Wives Choir Comox celebrated it's 1 year anniversary.
*Recieved my rights back to DEPENDENT
*Published SKIN, my third novel with an amazing launch party surrounded by friends and family.
December 8, 2016
Dependent Giveaway!
To celebrate Dependent's re-release, I'm offering up paperback proof copies to two lucky winners!
Head on over to Goodreads and enter by clicking below!
Head on over to Goodreads and enter by clicking below!
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Brenda
December 1, 2016
Dependent Re-release
New cover! Design by Streetlight Graphics.Dependent's second edition is now ready for pre-order and will be available December 9th!
It's been a few complicated months of rights discussions, editing, cover art and formatting work, but the Fortunate Frog Fiction edition of Dependent is ready to go and will release next week. This story is darker than my YA writing, and deals with some heavy issues. Sexual assault in the military setting, the culture of rank, deployments, moving...many of the things our military spouses deal with every day.
If you haven't read it yet, please consider it for your reading list. There will be a Goodreads giveaway posted here next week and you could win one of two copies of the new edition. I'm also part of small blog tour to celebrate the re-release.
If you have read it, please share your thoughts in a review (Amazon and Goodreads are very easy platforms...), and don't forget to share with your friends!
Thank you to all who have supported me through this transition.
Brenda
November 19, 2016
Dependent update
A few weeks ago you may have seen that Dependent's original publisher, Jolly Fish Press, was closing its doors.
They later followed up by an announcement, stating that they weren't really closing, but instead were being purchased by North Star Editions.
As can be imagined, it was a relatively turbulent time for other JFP authors, as information was limited, and their writing dreams were pinned on some shaky ground. I'm happy for those who stayed the course and have moved with JFP to the new publisher, but many of my writing friends had their rights reverted, and are moving on either by seeking a new publisher for their stories, or by self publishing.
I was one of the lucky ones, as I had already moved on, receiving my rights back in the spring. Dependent is no longer available as a JFP title. As I began the process of publishing Dependent under my teeny-tiny press, Fortunate Frog Fiction, I was saddened to see others dealing with the same issues, only not by choice. As their new editions become available over the next few months, I'll be promoting them whole-heartedly here on the blog and on my other social media channels!
Regardless, the time has come to announce that Dependent will be re-released BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
I'm in the process of finalizing the cover and formatting, and hope to be ready to upload as early as next week!
I will be revealing my cover in the next week or so, so stay tuned. Things are moving fast!
If you haven't read Dependent, please consider purchasing the new edition, either in ebook or paperback format. It brings up some very real issues.
Now, more than ever.
Women should not have to fear men in power.
Brenda
Jolly Fish Press is closing its doors - https://t.co/7ut97xR47I— Jolly Fish Press (@JollyFishPress) October 17, 2016
They later followed up by an announcement, stating that they weren't really closing, but instead were being purchased by North Star Editions.
North Star Editions Acquires Jolly Fish Press - https://t.co/2bnTWZGOn7— Jolly Fish Press (@JollyFishPress) October 28, 2016
As can be imagined, it was a relatively turbulent time for other JFP authors, as information was limited, and their writing dreams were pinned on some shaky ground. I'm happy for those who stayed the course and have moved with JFP to the new publisher, but many of my writing friends had their rights reverted, and are moving on either by seeking a new publisher for their stories, or by self publishing.
I was one of the lucky ones, as I had already moved on, receiving my rights back in the spring. Dependent is no longer available as a JFP title. As I began the process of publishing Dependent under my teeny-tiny press, Fortunate Frog Fiction, I was saddened to see others dealing with the same issues, only not by choice. As their new editions become available over the next few months, I'll be promoting them whole-heartedly here on the blog and on my other social media channels!
Regardless, the time has come to announce that Dependent will be re-released BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
I'm in the process of finalizing the cover and formatting, and hope to be ready to upload as early as next week!
I will be revealing my cover in the next week or so, so stay tuned. Things are moving fast!
If you haven't read Dependent, please consider purchasing the new edition, either in ebook or paperback format. It brings up some very real issues.
Now, more than ever.
Women should not have to fear men in power.
Brenda
October 31, 2016
NaNoWriMo Take Five (?)
All decked out, and no place to goHappy Halloween!
Hope you are ready for the influx of ghosties and superheroes and Harry Potter lookalikes! :) I'm going through a bit of nostalgia as this will be the first Halloween we have spent without a full cadre of dressed-up Dunnes. With my eldest away at university and my other two teens in a new city with busy lives, I'm not sure any of them of will dress up. The witches brew and mummy dogs will still be cooking up in the kitchen, and I'll be wearing my favourite purple and black striped tights.
So. October 31st also means preparation for one of the busiest months of my year... November. Remembrance Day. Diabetes Awareness Month (one of my teens is a juvenile (Type 1) diabetic). Christmas preparations. American Thanksgiving. And--when I'm feeling particularly crazy--National Novel Writing Month.
And this month I'm feeling particularly crazy.
The truth of the matter is, with all that's been going on, I'm in a bit of a writing rut. Not blocked (I'm not a believer in writer's block), but significantly decelerated. My mojo needs some gojo. There is nothing better than a month designated to not just pick away at, but to FINISH a project when you're an author. A suspended inner editor and a permission slip to let the laundry pile up...with several hundred other crazy nut-bars write (miss-spell intended) there along with you.
My first NaNo project!If you've followed me since the beginning, you'll know that Treasure in the Flame started out as a NaNo project in 2010.In 2011, a little idea I'd titled Red Sand Selkie battled it's way through to becoming SKIN.
2012 was Dependent's year.
2013 I worked on Off Grid (currently under sub).
In fact, just about every year since I found NaNo, I've used November as a month to do something with my writing.
This year for NaNo I'm HOPING to barrel through and finish at least one of the sequels I've got on my laptop... And I'm starting with the much requested sequel to
SKIN
, tentatively titled SWIM.Ocean and Sam are in trouble. Deeeeeeep trouble. And I have to get them out of a very nasty mess. I'm about 25k words in, making it a perfect 50k+ word winning NaNo project.
And that's the great thing about NaNoWriMo. You can't really 'lose'. Any words down at this point will be winning words. And in the end, you get a sequel. Wish me luck!
And now, back to my regularly scheduled Halloween candy pilfering... ;)
Brenda
*Nano Image Courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
October 9, 2016
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
What am I thankful for? A whole day to spend with the people I love...My husband has the day off, my eldest is home for the weekend from her university, my two live-at-home teens have no activities, and the fridge is full to the brim of goodies for us to eat (although I had a bit of a time trying to find a turkey in the US in October...). My cup continually runs over, and I am so blessed to have all of the opportunities I do.
To celebrate all of this largess, and as a toke of my gratitude to you, my readers, I've lowered the price of both SKIN and TREASURE IN THE FLAME Kindle ebooks for a whole week! Just $2.99! This week is also #TeenReadsWeek, and yesterday was #IndieAuthorDay, so what better time to have a sale on my indie YA's? If you haven't read them, now is your chance.
If you are in the US, click here. In Canada? Try here. Elsewhere in the world? Check out your local Amazon. :)
Hope you all have a good book to read, a comfy couch to snuggle into and a thankful heart today.
With love,
Brenda
