Loni Townsend's Blog, page 19

Finding Time #IWSG

I had to chuckle to myself. One of those miserable, self-deprecating laughs. The Insecure Writer’s Support Group has a monthly question. Today’s Question: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

Lately, I haven’t (thus the laugh). I get 10 words here and there, but my calendar is packed with all the other things vying for my attention. You know, like my children. Sheesh. Normally, I’ll spend my lunch hammering out about 200 words. That’s been difficult these past few weeks, since I’ve had to take time off and rearrange my schedule to get my son into early childhood development observation, arrange for well-child check-ups, and do all that other Mama stuff that comes with having kids.

Since handing off my children isn’t an option, and Mother comes before Writer in my tagline, I hope I can gain forgiveness from my peers for my failings.

In the calm times—those weeks where I don’t have to take time off of work to take care of life—I’ve got a system. Lunch hits. I stand up, walk around the campus for 15 minutes, and spend the remaining 45 writing. That’s it. Once I’m home, there’s no time for writing. Every moment (whether I’m awake or not) is interrupted with a constant request for my attention. This leaves me with a precious 3 hours and 45 minutes a week to get any writing done.

It hasn’t been calm lately.

My schedule is packed for September. Hopefully October fares better.

What takes up your time? Is this a busy month for you?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post Finding Time #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Tumbling Toward Earth #skydiving

Good news, everyone. I survived!

The usual question I get is: How was it?

Short answer: Terrifying.

I did a tandem jump, meaning I had an experienced skydiver hooked to my back to handle everything from exiting the plane to landing us safely. Good thing too, because all instruction fled my mind once I was staring down at the patches of green and gold that make up our landscape. But, as I learned after our jump, my instructor is a quick thinker in emergency situations, demonstrated in this article just the week before. Thankfully, that didn’t happen on my turn.

The flight up had my usual nervous smile plastered to my face. It seems the more terrified I am, the bigger the smile gets. About halfway up, my instructor said, “See those little cars on the freeway? When you can no longer see them, then we’ll jump.” Egads!

Then it came time to make our exit. The instructions were simple: Sit on the edge of the plane, hold onto your harness, tuck your calves up under the plane–

And suddenly I’m tumbling.

SkyEarthSkyEarthFlippingThisWayThatWayThisWayThatWay, and good grief, I think I’m going to puke. BTW, I get motion sick fairly easily. I can’t even watch my husband play first-person shooters without feeling queasy.

Finally we level out. Gorgeous landscape sprawled out beneath me. I took in the mountains, the fields, the fact that I couldn’t make out any buildings… For a full minute of free fall at 120 MPH.

It was glorious.

But boy, did my mouth get dry. I’m not sure if it was me smiling or me screaming, but the air rushing past my face certainly made sure I wasn’t drooling on myself.

My instructor tapped me on the shoulder then, and pointed upward. I craned my gaze to take in flare of orange and yellow blooming above our heads. A hard jerk yanked me from horizontal to vertical and the harness went taut. “Good news!” my instructor said. “Our parachute deployed.”

We coasted down after that. He even let me pull the steering cables. I screamed as we made sharp right then left turns. When it came time to land, I realized the condition of my core when I couldn’t quite lift my legs up to waist level. But I didn’t break a leg, so I came away unscathed this time. You can bet your booty I’ll be working to strengthen my muscles though.

The second question people ask is: Would you do it again?

Yes and no. I wouldn’t mind going again for the experience, though I’d probably pop some Dramamine ahead of time. But the time and money investment is fairly hefty for my already crammed schedule. Plus, as soon as I was out of my gear, I was thrust back into Mamahood with a sick Babyzilla. I didn’t even get a good look at the pictures from the GoPro. Thankfully, my best friend offered to handle that for me.

There. I have crossed an item off my bucket list.

What’s the most terrifying (in a good way) experience you’ve had? What type of things do you have on your bucket list?

The post Tumbling Toward Earth #skydiving appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Vanishing Squirrel Act

Imagine me staring at my computer wide-eyed and a bit bewildered. Two weeks. Somehow, somewhere, two Wednesdays came and left before I had the chance to process what was going on. Call me a slacker, for that is what I am. Had I been paying attention to the days, I might have made party decorations by now.

Wait, no, that’s not what I meant to say.

This is my blog. Had I been paying attention to the days, I might have published a couple of posts. Yeah. That’s it. Geez. I have the attention span of a— Hey, what was that?

Ahem.

Back on topic: Lots of things are happening at the Town’s End. The girl turned 6 the same day she started first grade. The birthday party is on this coming Sunday. No, I haven’t made decorations. I’ll get it done. Probably. In a mad dash and wild scramble. At the last possible minute.

After I jump out of an airplane. As my husband so delicately asked, “Is this one of those bucket-list things?” Yes, yes it is. And it’s going to be AWESOME. This Saturday, my best friend and I are crossing this off our lists at 16K above the ground. Flying Squirrel! Whee!

But wait! There’s more.

I’m running a 5K on the 3rd. I’m the featured local author at the Pop Up Book Store event on the 9th. I’m doing PaintNite with my best friend on the 16th.

See? Lots o’ stuff. So if I pull another vanishing squirrel act, don’t be alarmed. I’m still here. Probably.

That Overwhelming Thing Called Life #IWSG

Egads. It’s August. That realization comes with the horrible knowledge that we’re three-quarters of the way through the year and I haven’t finished anything. Oh the excuses! I have birthday parties to plan, schooling to arrange, and a plethora of medical situations to deal with. Don’t worry, I’m fine. There was just a health scare with my husband which led to a discovery of his high blood pressure which he tried to resolve through exercise which resulted in an aggravated sesamoid in his foot. Have I mentioned my husband is eternally thwarted?

How does this relate to me being an insecure writer? During this tumultuous time, I’ve found it’s somewhat hard to write humor. As I desperately scramble to finish Murder Most Fowl, I’m struggling with what typically comes easy to me and have been since mid-July. I’ve made good progress on Isto with the serious threat of monsters slaughtering the population. But with its length, I know it’s not a feasible goal to finish this year. So MMF is slated for this fall. What if I don’t get my humor back in time? What if what I write isn’t funny? What if something else happens to my husband?

I know there’s no point in worrying. Funny can be fixed, and there’s no way to prevent my husband from being the eternal target of Murphy’s Law. (He almost drowned on a rafting trip last month, ended up black and blue with bruises, and got burn beyond crispy in the sun.) In the meantime, I’ll just keep writing the action bits and hope things get better.

IWSG question of the month: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

The first piece I seriously wrote was called Silver Star Kingdom: Curse of the Fairy Bloodline. It rolled up just under 50K and was pretty much straight telling. I revamped everything about it save for the main character’s name and turned it into what it is today: Thanmir War.

Have you seen life impact your writing? What do you do to get through?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post That Overwhelming Thing Called Life #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

This Little Squirrel Went To The Market

Did you know local authors can join in at the farmer’s market? I didn’t, not until a friend who rented a space for the season offered me the opportunity to take her place while she was out of town. But it makes sense now. I’ve toiled over my books, crafting them into creative items other people would enjoy. It matches the other non-food vendors.

Last Saturday was a gorgeous day. There I was with a table of books and an umbrella twisty-tied to my chair. I tried to set up one of those camping gazebos, really I did. Let’s just say it’s been almost two years since I last went camping, and that was the time my mom broke her knee. After trying to fit pole labeled “2” into one labeled “3” and failing, I tossed them back into their box and opted for a simpler solution.

I am a simple squirrel, after all.

Despite my tendencies to fluster easily and scamper away to the closest tree, I actually do like people. They are interesting to watch, fun to talk to, and have the innate reaction to engage when you make eye-contact.

Do you know how devious I felt? All it took was a smile and question: “Do you read fantasy?” Regardless of answer, I saw it—that glimmer of interest, a curiosity. Who is this odd person with books on her table, offering me a free pen? I got a few chuckles with the pen offers. Surprisingly, a lot of people said they had plenty of pens. Go figure.

I sold 11 books on Saturday. I also faced a couple of uncomfortable questions, such as, “Do you sell a lot of books?” Me: *nervous chuckle* You kind of have to promote your work to sell it…

I met dozens of interesting people though—a boy who writes fantasy, a girl who writes about animals, a man who wants to support his son’s novel, a friend of a fantasy author, and a friend of a local publisher. That last one left me in a bit of pain, as she’s one who asked the question mentioned above and promptly followed up with, “Well, then maybe you should get a publisher. My friend self-published and she learned how bad of an idea that was.” At least she was very kind to offer the name of the local publisher that her other friend runs, Aloha Publishing. Alas, they specialize in non-fiction.

Ahem, anyways.

I got pretty good at my pitch throughout the day. Though I ended up stumbling at one point when a mother and her daughters asked if there was any descriptive sex scenes, or describing people’s naked bodies. I have naked people (full-blood elementals don’t wear clothes) but do I describe it sexually? I wracked my brain. I remembered a comment from a beta about This World Bites and ended up closing the door on that one. What about Thanmir War? I was fairly certain there wasn’t anything explicit. I don’t write erotica. So, I said no. But I published Thanmir War in 2013, and my memory can be a bit faulty. Regrettably, there is a love scene between a married couple where a paragraph has some descriptive language.

Lady, if you are out there and happen to read this, I apologize and will refund your money if you find it offensive. It was never my intention to mislead you for the sake of a sale.

All in all, I had a lot of fun at the market. I was between a Henna artist and a woman who made delightful blankets and hats for kids. I met photographers and carvers and woodworkers. If you get the opportunity to join, I’d say give it a try!

Do you have a local farmer’s market? How do you respond to uncomfortable questions? Do you like to watch people?

The post This Little Squirrel Went To The Market appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Hell Comes to Hogtown

Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming C.D. Gallant-King to the Town’s End. He’s recently released his latest book: Hell Comes to Hogtown. It’s fun romp, chock full of gratuitous violence and unusual characters. Now, here’s all the info!

A comic book nerd and a pro-wrestler try to clear their names in a kidnapping while evading a bloodthirsty demon hobo…

THE TRAILER!


THE INTERVIEW!

Tell us about Hell Comes to Hogtown.

Hogtown is a horror comedy about two losers who get involved in a paranormal mystery and wind up in way over their heads. The protagonist, Fitz, is an awkward, socially inept underachiever whose life is turned upside down when he encounters a beautiful woman in a comic book store. Through twists and turns completely outside his control, the chance encounter ends up getting him implicated in a murder and kidnapping plot involving the prime minister’s family. His best friend Dee – a narcissistic, drug-addled professional wrestler – winds up dragged along for the ride. In addition to the cops and the feds on their tail, Fitz and Dee have to deal with an even more dangerous threat: a drunken, demonic hobo with a taste for blood.

A number of weird and interesting people pop up in Hell Comes to Hogtown. Where do you get your characters from?

Shoeboxes. I find them under my bed.

Seriously though, there’s no particular trick or source. The two main characters in Hell Comes to Hogtown – Fitz and Dee – had been some I’d been thinking about for a long time. The hapless, underachieving comic book store employee always spoke to me. I like apparently loser characters who don’t have any special skills or redeeming qualities; they have nowhere to go but up. The skeevy wrestler was also one I wanted to try, because I love writing jerks. I just didn’t realize they would go so well together. They’re both losers and they play off each other well, and the dynamics of their platonic but antagonistic relationship provides a great deal of the thrust of the story.

Do you have a favorite character?

I had a lot of fun with most of the characters in Hogtown. They’re all screw-ups, weirdos and terrible people, but they all have their charms and I think you’ll want them to succeed (and survive). If I had to pick just one it would be probably be Dee, the wrestler, who is a narcissistic, drug addicted womanizer and all-around jerk but hot damn, is he ever fun to write. I never know what’s going to come out of his mouth, but usually it’s the most offensive thing I can think of.

Do you have conversations with your characters?

Nope, that’s silly. Sometimes I think about having sex with them, though.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Just write. Don’t chat on Facebook groups about writing, don’t worry about the best software to use or your marketing plans, and certainly don’t read interviews by independent writers who have no idea what they’re talking about. JUST WRITE.

(And maybe read. Reading is also good.)

You use a lot of comedy in your work. Tell us a joke!

BANANA PANTS!

I don’t get it either, but it’s my four-year-old’s go-to. He think it’s hilarious, but I guess I just don’t get modern humour.

I keep falling for it, too. Like he’ll start with a knock-knock joke:

KID: Knock, knock!

ME: Who’s there?

KID: BANANA PANTS!

And then he’ll just keel over and bust a gut laughing, and I feel embarrassed for having fallen for it again.

Anyway, I think I’m losing the point of this conversation. Go check out my book!

THE BOOK!

Title: Hell Comes to Hogtown

Author: C.D Gallant-King

Genre: Comic Horror

Length: 65,000 words

Cover Art: Jason Salvatori and Max Covers

Editing: Amy Allen-MacLeod

Release Date: July 1, 2016

Fitz is a broke night manager for a grubby comic book store. His only friend Dee is a drugged-out, womanizing pro-wrestler. Together they’re the most pathetic losers on the face of the planet. Their lives cannot possibly get any worse.

And then they’re implicated in the kidnapping of the prime minister’s wife.

On the run from the cops, Fitz and Dee discover there is something far worse than the RCMP stalking the dark streets of Toronto. They are being hunted by an ancient demon of unspeakable evil with an insatiable taste for blood… or maybe it’s just your run-of-the-mill giant murderous hobo?

Either way, life in prison might be better than whatever the creepy drifter has in store for them…

THE LINKS!

You can purchase Hell Comes to Hogtown at any of the fine retailers below:

AMAZON.COM | AMAZON.CA | AMAZON.CO.UK

KOBO | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES

CREATESPACE | SMASHWORDS | GOODREADS
THE WRITER!

Writer, tabletop gamer, pro-wrestling aficionado. Dad.

C.D. Gallant-King is an independent writer originally from Newfoundland, Canada, though he’s not fond of fishing and hates boats. He moved to Toronto to study theatre, and then later moved to Ottawa where he does absolutely nothing related to theatre.

He hangs out on Twitter and Facebook, and blogs at Stories I Found in the Closet and Rule of the Dice.

Do you like comedy horror? What do you think of the blurb? Are you a comic book fan?

The post Hell Comes to Hogtown appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

She Has A Nice Personality #IWSG

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is doing a new thing. They’re asking a question:

What’s the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?

By seeking out feedback, I’ve gotten helpful criticism. As a result, I know where my faults lie. Emotions—I’m terrible at manufacturing those moments that make people cry. Tension—How the heck do you get a person to hold their breath and grip the book with white fingers? Setting—oh, did I mention these people were in some place interesting? No? Clarity—I’m awesome at confusing people! Wait, that’s not a good thing, is it?

But not everything about my writing sucks. From what I can tell, I give good voice. And I can make the occasional person burst out in laughter. Sure, that might be me chuckling (manically cackling), but I’m still a person. Right?

Anyways, back to the question at hand. What’s the best thing someone’s said?

I am really impressed. This is usually pillow throwing, head banging, omfg levels of “WHAT IS GOING ON”, but you’re somehow carrying it through sheer force of personality.

BAM! Not bad for having thrown someone with no exposure to me or my writing into the mess that is currently Isto. Now, I’ll just ignore all the Urban Dictionary entries about female personalities…

Do you know your writing faults? How do you recognize what you need to work on? Do you have any tension suggestions?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post She Has A Nice Personality #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Twisted Magics – New Release in #SciFantasy!

There’s something nice about getting to know local authors. You meet the interesting personalities that give us amazing worlds filled with everything and more than the imagination can muster. I had the privilege to encounter J.C. Jackson.

Jei, as I call her, released her debut to the world this week! Her cover is rockin’ and the content between the pages is just as good. I’m more than happy to share it with all of you.

Blurb

Magic and science are normal to Ketayl. She was content in her lab at the Terran Intelligence Organization until the day an explosion in Elven Territory thrust her out of the lab and into the field.

There, she finds a kind of twisted, dark magic that she has no idea how to stop. On top of having to hunt down a rogue mage, the exposure to the twisted magical energy is putting herself and those around her in danger.

Can Ketayl find the rogue mage and put an end to the twisted magic before she succumbs to its effects?

Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

About the Author:

J.C. Jackson is originally from New England and currently lives in southwestern Idaho with her husband and daughter.

On top of writing, she enjoys gaming whether that is picking up a controller or throwing down some dice in a tabletop RPG (as well as other board games). She has also been a fan of science fiction and fantasy since she was little.

What do you think of science fantasy? Do you know many authors in your local area? Are you heading to check out Twisted Magics now?

The post Twisted Magics – New Release in #SciFantasy! appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Cover Revamp!

I’ve been working on Murder Most Fowl, the next in the Cera Chronicles. My goal is to beef it up from 10K to 25K, and adjust the pace for something more suitable for a novella, rather than a serialized story. It’s been fun so far, and I hope to get it done sometime this month.

With high hopes of finishing MMF, I’ve designed and finished the cover. But I’m not revealing it yet! I know… I hear the resounding “AWWWWW!” of disappointment.

During my design, I decided to revamp the series branding and make the titles more readable at a thumbnail size. I like the metallic title, but it works better for the short titles of the Ninier series.

Therefore, I bring you a new and improved cover for This World Bites! (I drew the heart in the corner myself.)

Do you like the new cover? Do you do your own cover design? Are you looking forward to Murder Most Fowl?

The post Cover Revamp! appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Why One Should Not Procrastinate #ParentLife

Procrastination is my biggest downfall. I’m the type of squirrel who rushes around gathering nuts just before winter hits. Back in high school, I used to arrive early to finish my homework before class.

With age apparently doesn’t come wisdom, because I really should know better by now.

Last Wednesday, I had a quick referral meeting about getting my son into preschool. Fifteen minutes tops. Pre-Meeting, I thought, I’ll go home afterward and get some words down before I pick up the kids from daycare. During the meeting, I mentioned my husband was considering switching which daycare the kiddos attend. The meeting gals nodded and made a suggestion. Woot! I’d check it out on my way home.

I stopped by the suggested daycare and yes, the place looks excellent. Except they’re booked for my son’s age group. After getting on the waiting list, that prompted me to remember I wanted to see about getting my daughter into a local club for the summer. I’d first started considering this back in January and here it was June.

Procrastination anyone?

Phone call one: the first club location was full. Oy Vey! After a bit of back and forth with my husband, we picked another location. Phone call two: Yes, they have openings, but they are going quickly and you must attend an orientation before you can register. Orientation is held on Wednesday night at 5PM and if you’re late, you’ll have to come back the next week. I checked my watch. It was 3:30.

Good thing I’d gotten off early for my son’s preschool meeting.

Oh, but they require the kids be at least going into first grade (check!) and six years old (doh!). The girl doesn’t turn six until the fall. But I could take a report card to the orientation to prove she’s doing well in school and they might give her a pass.

Next stop, Elementary School!

After getting her grades from the school, I popped over to pick up my daughter so I could get to a different part of town (technically another city) before orientation started. Thankfully, my husband was able to get my son so that I didn’t have a rambunctious little boy running around during it.

By 5:45, I’d gotten my daughter squared away for the summer, using my smartphone to register her as soon as the orientation was over. It’s first come, first served, and my daughter really liked the place and I liked the opportunities it provided. It’s en route to my husband’s work, and inexpensive compared to daycare.

But guess what. I still haven’t squared away my son’s care, which was what prompted this entire mad dash. I’ve been checking out a number of places, most of which don’t have availability. Last night, though, I think I found the spot. I just need to fill out the paperwork to get him registered before his class reaches capacity.

And I didn’t get any writing done either.

Do you ever procrastinate? What would you consider your downfall? Have you ever dealt with child care woes?

The post Why One Should Not Procrastinate #ParentLife appeared first on Squirrel Talk.