Megan Morgan's Blog, page 56

I’m baaack!

Well, I spent my fortieth birthday in Vegas, and while I did have a lot of fun there, things didn’t exactly…go as planned. We stayed at The Flamingo which has a nature habitat with real flamingos in it. Lots of birds and fish, actually! Here’s a few pictures:

Vegas was very hot and glitzy and had wonderful food and so much to see and do. I’m extremely grateful to my friends who took me there. Here’s me and my best friend at my birthday dinner (which was amazing, by the way):

You can check out tons more pictures of my trip and my fabulous life on my Instagram.

Alas, it turned out not to be all fun and good times. On Saturday (my birthday, no less!) I suffered a nasty fall–let’s just say me and high heels do not mix, I discovered. However, from such a simple incident–I merely tripped!–I sustained a fairly serious injury and I’ve been in and out of the hospital over the past few days. I would share pictures of that but it’s pretty gruesome, so I’ll abstain. The smallest accident can change everything and slips and falls are no joke. Please be careful!

Because of vacation and hospital time I’ve been behind on catching up with things and answering messages–I’m getting there, I promise!

Today I’m also doing a guest blog (and holding a contest!) over at Long and Short Reviews. Stop over and say hello and enter to win!

Filed under: Behind The Scenes, Giveaways Tagged: me, personal life, pictures

Lordy, lordy, I’m turning 40!

Just a short happy personal post today to let everyone know tomorrow is my 40th birthday–yikes! So why am I so happy? Because my best friend is taking me to Las Vegas! We’re leaving tonight and coming back on Monday. I plan to have lots of fun in Sin City, because you know what they say–what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. ;)

As a funny anecdote, I was actually made in Las Vegas (I love to tell people that when they ask if I’ve been there). My mother and father met in Vegas when they were both working in casinos there and created me–but I was born in Reno (my mother said Las Vegas hospitals were too dirty) and I’ve never been back there post-leaving the womb. So 40 years later, I’m returning to the place I was made to check it out. It’s going to be a fun–and funny–experience!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend as well! I won’t be posting on Monday as I’ll just be coming back from vacation, but I’ll post on Wednesday about the trip–with pictures!

Filed under: About Me, Behind The Scenes Tagged: me, personal life

Cover reveal for Hungry As a Wolf by Elizabeth Einspanier

Today I’m hosting Elizabeth Einspanier’s cover reveal for her horror/western Hungry As a Wolf, available October 31st. Elizabeth is giving away a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card, so be sure to comment, follow the tour, and enter the Rafflecopter drawing!

Wolf Cowrie is back in his second adventure! In the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory in 1865, tensions run high between white settlers looking for gold and the Sioux people who consider this region their holy ground. When Wolf is hired to find out what happened to the workers of a mining outpost in the area, the general theory in Goldwater is that they were slaughtered by the Sioux. Wolf discovers something far more sinister lurking in the Black Hills, an ancient evil whose unending hunger drives sane men to ghoulish extremes.

EXCERPT:

It was a young woman of perhaps nineteen years of age, with auburn hair and brown eyes. She was well-dressed in a white blouse with leg-of-mutton sleeves and a narrow column of ruffles down the front. A dark blue skirt respectably covered her ankles and black boots, and her hair was pulled back in a style he could not readily see from this angle, with wisps curling delicately around her face. She was a pretty little thing as well, and Wolf wished he could have made her acquaintance under better circumstances—like, say, fully-clothed, rather than stark naked with only his hat to conceal his shame.

The two of them stared at each other for maybe half a minute—him in a state of poker-faced, heart-pounding embarrassment, her in open-mouthed shock. Wolf’s heart and his stomach had lurched in opposite directions when he saw her—his heart upwards to lodge in his throat, his stomach downwards to gurgle in low panic somewhere around his knees. He swallowed hard to try to clear the lump of nerves behind his larynx. Somehow, Wolf was the first to find his voice.

“Ordinarily, miss, I’d be the first to tip my hat to a lovely young lady like yourself,” he said as politely as he could manage, with a glance down at the hat in question. “But I don’t think either of us wants that right now.”

She blushed bright scarlet and whirled out of the bathroom without a word, revealing the bun that secured her hair and slamming the door behind her. Wolf put his free hand over his face.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Einspanier is the self-published author of the Weird Western novella Sheep’s Clothing and the upcoming sci-fi romance novel Heart of Steel. Her short stories have been published in Down in the Dirt and Dark Fire Fiction. She is a member of the St. Louis Writer’s Guild and an associate member of the Horror Writers of America. She lives in St. Louis, but frequently spends extended periods in worlds of her own creation.

Links:

Website: http://elizabetheinspanier.com

Blog: http://calliopeskiss.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekGirlWriter

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ElizabethEinspanier/

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/elizabetheinspanier

Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN Gift Card

Leave a comment and follow the tour for more chances to win!

Filed under: Cover Reveal, Giveaways, Guest Posts, Promotion Tagged: paranormal

Let’s get spiritual.

I’ve never been one to plot, even a full-length novel–I’m definitely a pantser. If you haven’t heard that term before, it’s a writer who writes from the seat of their pants, basically. For some writers, having an outline or even just a structured idea helps, but I’ve never been able to do either of those things. I’ve tried to make an outline for a work of fiction, but it didn’t turn out the way I hoped and the outline was forgotten by chapter two. My characters tend to be unruly toddlers, running around screaming and doing exactly as they please.

I’ve heard many great authors say they feel as though their stories come to them as divine dictation, so uninformed they are of their story’s direction while writing it. Many authors feel the Muse is something beyond themselves, that they are just transcribing what the Universe, or God, or some Higher Power is commanding them to write. I suppose it comes down to faith. You can say the words come from beyond or from within, but regardless of belief most authors know the Muse works in mysterious ways.

Sometimes I find myself not knowing how to work a plot point out, except believing I have to keep writing to unravel the knot. This has worked so many times I can’t believe it’s just chance or luck. The creative process works best when being exercised. Like any muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. If you hit a block the best way to bust through it is to punch that wall until you make a hole. Sitting around staring at it certainly won’t make it dissolve.

I can plan my stories to a certain point, and even have some goal to work toward, but the truth of the tale comes in the writing. The more I write, the more I understand what’s going on. Likewise, the more I write the more I understand the characters. Understanding the characters is all you need to move a story along. After all, people move the stories of their lives forward in reality, so why should it be different in fiction?

I wouldn’t give up the feeling of being ‘commanded from beyond’ for anything in the world. I don’t want to know the ending until I get there. I feel like the reader instead of the writer. It’s a magical experience, whether a spiritual blessing or simply a mental process that gets activated the more you work on it.

How about you? Do you work from the hip, or do you like to plan it out? I’m interested to hear your take on the writer’s magic!

Filed under: Behind The Scenes Tagged: creativity, inspiration, writing

Things to look for in a publisher.

I’m published with several publishers, one large and a few small. I’ve spread my literary seed around, you could say. I didn’t plan this, it just sort of happened. I find personally working with more than one publisher gives me more options and I don’t have to restrict myself as far as genre and content are concerned. If something doesn’t fit with one publisher, I can submit to another. This has also given me insight into how different publishing houses work, certain things that are the same across the board no matter who publishes you, and things as an author I need to watch out for. An author can learn a great deal about the business by branching out to more than one, or even two, publishing houses.

And so, I’m going to share with you the top five things to look for and expect in a publisher, based on my experiences:

1. Mutual respect.  A publisher is taking on your work because presumably, they think it’s a good story and they believe that they (and you) can make money off it. But you are also the creator of the work and your opinions and thoughts on the process and the final product should be considered. A publisher should be communicative and open to any concerns you have. You should always be able to email someone with a question and get an answer. I do say mutual respect, however–which means you should also act in a professional and respectful manner when communicating and expressing your thoughts and concerns. Getting your book before the masses should never feel like a tug-of-war with the publisher. You’re working together, to mutually benefit from the end result.

2. Professionalism. This is one of my biggest sticking points. A huge red flag goes up for me whenever anyone from a publishing house behaves in a non-professional manner, either publicly or in private–be it on author loops, through emails, or other routes of communication where the reader isn’t present. Professionalism to me means behaving in a business-like manner, keeping conflicts one-on-one, and sticking to relevant discussion and using respectful language. I have, more than once, seen extremely unprofessional behavior within publishing houses–but because I consider myself a professional, I would never name names or talk about these incidents in public. The author needs to be a professional too. Try to solve your issues outside the public eye. You never know who’s watching.

3. Fairness. Read every contract entirely and carefully before you sign it. Do your research and get an idea of what constitutes fairness as far as length of contracts, royalties, rights, and payments are concerned. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something and don’t be afraid to ask for changes if something seems unfair. This seems like something you’d never want to do, but if you can’t come to an agreement on a contract, withdraw your work. It’s not career suicide–it’s just being business savvy. If it’s your first time signing a contract and everything seems crazy to you, talk to other authors and find out what’s fair and what the fine print means. Educate yourself and be wary of publishers that want too much and don’t want to budge on their terms.

4. Reputation. Absolute Write Water Cooler is one of the best places on the internet to research publishing houses. Go to the ‘Bewares, Recommendations, & Background Check’ forum and you’ll get first-hand information from people who have worked, or are working with various publishing houses. You can also look up what authors write for a publishing house and get in touch with them and ask how they feel about their experience. Many authors are willing to give their honest opinions and I’ve gotten a few of those emails. Google is also your friend: if a publishing house has a bad reputation, believe me, someone out there is talking about it. Writer Beware is another place to learn who’s trying to screw over their authors.

5. Attention to detail. Pick up some books the publisher has put out. Are they well put together? Do they have nice formatting? Are the covers appealing or do they look like they were slapped together in Photoshop in ten seconds? Is the editing sloppy? Do they pump out so many books a month they seem like an author mill? Observe the quality of what the publisher is putting out before you decide to go with them, or you might find yourself disappointed and a little embarrassed with the end result, and stuck in a contract you can’t do anything about.

How about you? What do you look for in a publisher, and what would make you turn and run the other way?

Filed under: Behind The Scenes Tagged: advice, contract, information, publishers, writing

Madison’s Song by Christine Amsden

Today I’m hosting Christine Amsden and her paranormal romance Madison’s Song. Her tour includes a chance to win a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card! Follow the tour for even more chances to win.

Her voice is enchanting; his soul is black…

Madison Carter has been terrified of Scott Lee since the night he saved her from an evil sorcerer – then melted into a man-eating monster before her eyes. The werewolf is a slave to the moon, but Madison’s nightmares are not.

Despite her fears, when Madison’s brother, Clinton, is bitten by a werewolf, she knows there is only one man who can help. A man who frightens her all the more because even in her nightmares, he also thrills her.

Together for the first time since that terrible night, Scott and Madison drive to Clinton’s home only to discover that he’s vanished. Frantic now, Madison must overcome her fears and uncover hidden strengths if she hopes to save him. And she’s not the only one fighting inner demons. Scott’s are literal, and they have him convinced that he will never deserve the woman he loves.

*Stand-alone companion to the Cassie Scot series

EXCERPT:

The first police car screamed into the lot, skidding to a halt so close to the front of the truck that it was a miracle it hadn’t hit. They were caught. Madison glanced at Scott for instructions, but his eyes were closed and he was muttering something under his breath – casting a spell.

Two uniformed officers spilled from their car, but they didn’t come towards them. Instead, they went for Mick and his dad, cutting them off before they could pile into a rusty Toyota. Then another squad car screamed into the lot, ejecting two more officers who went into the building.

“Go,” Scott murmured.

She barely heard him, but she obeyed. She put the truck in reverse, carefully backed away from the police car trying to kiss their bumper, then threw the truck into drive and peeled away. Madison kept glancing at the mirrors, even though the angles were wrong, looking behind them for the cars that would surely give chase. They didn’t. The police officers acted as if they couldn’t even see them.

It wasn’t just the policemen who couldn’t see them, as Madison discovered when she pulled into traffic. She screamed and slammed on the brakes, barely missing a collision when a car changed lines directly into their side.

“Are we invisible?” Madison asked.

Buy at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that

she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that affects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

Website: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/

Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/christineamsden

Blog: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/?page_id=200

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1030664.Christine_Amsden

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117845642477854934607/posts

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Amsden/e/B001JOXSIW/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1434059504&sr=8-1

BN Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/christine-amsden?store=allproducts&keyword=christine+amsden

Click to enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN Gift Card

Leave a comment and follow the tour for more chances to win!

Filed under: Giveaways, Guest Posts, Promotion Tagged: guests, paranormal, romance

Advertising–does it work for authors?

Like many ‘just getting started’ authors, I have a budget for self-promotion and marketing. Even though one of the publishers I’m with is well known and prestigious, they understandably reserve the bulk of their marketing money for their big authors. I am in no way saying they DON’T put money into marketing me, because they do, it’s just the reality of publishing. If you have to decide between dumping tons of money into your bestseller or a newbie, who are you going to pick? Understandably, the one you’re going to make your money back on. I ain’t mad. I ain’t bitter.

If you’re with a small press, it’s a given you will be doing most of your own marketing. Not because they don’t care about you, but because they don’t have the resources bigger publishers do. That being said, smaller presses can be much more responsive and family-like in their interactions with you, so you trade off the glitz and glamour of a bigger publisher for the nurturing environment of a smaller one–and it’s also a good place to learn.

So let’s talk about advertising. Let’s talk about the paid and unpaid advertising I’ve done, and I’ll tell you how it panned out for me.

Paid Advertising:

– Today starts an ad for my novel on EReader News Today. This is a huge site with tons of visitors and tons of subscribers to their newsletter (which also features your ad). Placing an ad here is moderately to hugely expensive, depending on what you get, your genre, and the pricing of your book. It has stringent requirements, including the sale price of your book, your number and quality of reviews, as well as length, editing, and cover requirements. Since this is the first day of the ad I can’t tell you how it’s done for me but I hear a LOT of good things. Go here to check out advertising with them. (Edit: holy heck, by the day after my sales SKYROCKETED–highly recommend this service.)

– I have an ad on The Romance Reviews right now (on the right sidebar). If you’re a romance author, they offer great perks when you register on their site as an author, giving you 15 credits toward running an ad on their site and three free headline ads. I took advantage of this. The link on my ad comes back to my site so I can see how many people clicked on it–so far, very few. But it was a good opportunity and the ad was almost free with my credits, so I gave it a go. Sign up here as an author. (You can also request a review and run a contest as an author.)

– I will have an ad on Long and Short Reviews, as well as participating in their anniversary party. Moderately expensive depending on what you get and I can’t tell you yet how it fared, because my ad and the party haven’t happened yet, but they’re a very popular and well-viewed site. Go here for their advertising options. (Edit: my ad is up now, I haven’t seen anything come back from it yet, though)

– I did a blog tour with Writer Marketing Services. Cheap, fun, and very accomodating–and I seemed to get a lot of traffic back to my site and interaction on the tour stops. Full disclosure, Lucy Felthouse who runs the service is my editor at one of my publishers, I got a discount because of this (through my publisher) but I’m not just pimping her because of that–she’s great! If you write erotica she also offers ads on Erotica For All, which has a huge amount of viewers. This seemed to get the most people talking to/following me.

– I have also had release day and cover reveal blog tours with Pump Up Your Book, but these are organized and paid for by my bigger publisher, so I can’t tell you much about pricing. This service gives you a huge amount of scattergun exposure…lots and lots of sites host you…but I’ve gotten very little kickback from it. However, the customer service and interactions I’ve had with the organizers is top notch.

– Facebook ads. If you hate your money, just throw it into a slot machine instead, you’re more likely to get a return. Facebook ads are a joke and here’s why.

– Facebook parties. Expensive, but fun. You need to give away prizes, usually gift cards. But you will have fun. Someone wisely told me not to give away too many free copies of my work: give away gift cards instead, so people will buy your books with them. Think about it–if you run a contest and the prize is your book, how many people are gonna go buy it, if they can win it for free?

Free Advertising:

– Blog hops. I take part in the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (which posts the first Wednesday of every month) and I took part in the Blogging From A-Z Challenge (which is hosted in part by the same people). Nothing–NOTHING I’ve done paid-wise has gotten me the kind of exposure these have. They drive insane amounts of traffic to my site and I’ve made so many new friends and connections (and readers) through them. Blog hops are great for exposure, but only if they meet two requirements: 1. They have tons of participants. 2. They’re widely known. It’s fun to participate in blog hops but you get more exposure with the bigger ones.

– Facebook groups. Facebook has tons of groups for whatever your book may fit into: genre, publisher, on sale. You can join these groups and promote your work. You’re shouting in a room full of people who are also shouting about themselves. The response is lackluster.

– Facebook ‘like’ threads. Sometimes people will post threads where you can link to your FB page and everybody can go ‘like’ the people who interest them, or threads where people pimp specific types of books. This seems to get some traction, depending on the popularity of the person posting the thread and their number of followers. I got 20 new likes last week doing this. Friend people on FB, join groups, and look out for chances to talk about yourself.

– Being a blog tour host. I’ve recently signed up to host blog tours with Goddess Fish Promotions. The theory is if you host a popular author, people will come to your site to see them and then they’ll also see your work (also some authors offer opportunities for prizes to the blogs who host them). I’ll let you know how it goes. Keep in mind there are requirements to being a blog tour host, including how many people visit your site, the genres you represent, and your availability.

– Networking. If you can get a prestigious author to give you a shoutout, it’s worth all the advertising on the internet. Be gracious and make friends. You never know.

– Social networking. Keep in mind you’re screaming in a room full of other people screaming. Find a way to stand out, be kind to everyone you talk to, and hope someone important retweets your tweet.

– Write another book/story. Keep your name in front of the masses.

– Blog. People like to read about other people and all their failed attempts at advertising.

So how about you? What methods of advertising have you tired? And also, here’s some free advertising right now–pimp your work in the comments, if you like!

Filed under: Behind The Scenes, Promotion Tagged: information, technology, writing

Presenting: Your World

If you’re a writer, something you’ve probably heard time and again is ‘understand your characters.’ This means having full and intimate knowledge of your character’s backgrounds–where they went to school, who their best friend is, what they like, what they don’t like, who their favorite actor is, what their favorite color is–even if you don’t use all the information in the story. The same holds true with the world you’re creating, whether it’s modern day New York City or another planet. The more you know about the people, places, and background, the more rich the story is, even if you don’t reveal all the information.

Once you know the details, you have to pick which ones to put in and which ones to leave out. And after all that, after you’ve hashed out the finer points and figured out which ones to give the reader, you arrive at the hardest part: how do you put that information into the story?

Exposition must be handled delicately. You don’t want to dump a bucket of information on your reader’s lap via long narrative and you don’t want your characters having “As you know, Jim…” conversations. So how do you tell the reader what they need to know without butting in and making it obvious you’re there?

I read an article recently about sci-fi and fantasy world building. The article pointed out in situations where the world is foreign to the reader, the author often inserts an everyman character, be it the main character or a secondary character. This character knows little to nothing about the world they’re in, so the other characters have to explain things to them, thereby explaining things to the reader. I didn’t even realize how often this happens until it was pointed out. In famous examples, Harry Potter knows nothing about the wizarding world and learns from the other characters; Sookie Stackhouse knows nothing about supernatural creatures (apart from vampires) until they start invading her life; in the Twilight series, Bella knows nothing about vampires until she meets one and he has to explain his world to her.

I freely admit I did this in my Siren Song series, too. June is paranormal but has deliberately avoided the paranormal community her entire life, so when she gets thrust into the heart of it, the other characters have to fill her (and the reader) in.

This is a good ploy for sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, and other fantastical genres, and clearly it’s tried and true. But maybe you don’t want to take that route, or maybe you’re writing a contemporary piece set in a New York City ad agency and you still need to tell the reader what’s going on. What are some other ways to do it? After all, no one walks around thinking “I sure do like my job at the ad agency where I started working in 1996,” or “The sky is pink on this planet because of the composition of air molecules reacting to our sun-star’s radiation.”

Here’s a few other ways to impart information to the readers:

Simply tell us. In short bursts at the right time. The information doesn’t have to be given in huge, overwhelming narratives. If we need to know Cindy started at the ad agency in 1996, this can come up in her mind when she meets a fresh eager new intern or considers what her life was like before she had the job.

Work it into a conversation. As I said above, we don’t want to be having “As you know Jim…” conversations. (“As you know Jim, the sky is pink because of the air molecules…”) But some conversations can be appropriate and non-intrusive and deliver the information you need them to. Cindy takes the intern to lunch and the intern asks how long she’s been working there. “Oh, I started in 1996. Gosh, it really has been that long…”

Make it part of a character’s personality. If you want to describe the building Cindy works in, have a reason for it. The intern is also into architecture and comments on the building style. The off-worlder’s favorite color is pink and she wants to know how the sky is pink here (this would totally be me in space, by the way).

Make it part of the story. The evil space villain is going to do something to the planet that will turn the sky green. We have to stop him! Why is the sky pink in the first place though, and why is that important to the people on the planet?

It’s tricky, especially if you’re building a foreign world and there’s a lot of information to give the reader. Remember, the important part is always the story–keep your focus on the story and you’ll find places to add background details. Of course, this may be completely different for hard sci-fi where a lot of the focus is on world building, but then, you have more room for heavy exposition. The rest of us have to be like the man behind the curtain, pulling levers and pushing buttons without anyone noticing (by the way, Dorothy was another everyman in a strange world).

How about you guys? Any other ideas for working in exposition?

Filed under: Behind The Scenes Tagged: creativity, writing

What’s the big idea?

One question writers get asked a lot is “Where do you get your ideas from?” The answer is so broad and varied, at least for me, it’s impossible to answer with a specific or simple reply. It’s much easier to answer “Where did you get the idea for (story)?” Even then, the answer can be incredibly complex. Ideas don’t just come from one place–a lot of times even the general theme of a story is derived from multiple sources, pieced together over time like bits of a very large puzzle.

Here are a few things that bring me inspiration and spark either whole or partial ideas that I can weave together and call a story:

Places. Travel is exciting and I wish I could do it more. When I do travel, I get a wealth of inspiration just from being somewhere new, having my eyes opened and my mind refreshed. But you don’t have to travel to some far-off exotic locale to light a fire under the muse. Just going to a different store than usual or taking a new route home from work wakes you up and jars you back into reality. When you’re grounded in the present, you really see things and pay attention. These brain-jogs can help get the creative juices flowing. Additionally, visiting somewhere like a museum or a beautiful garden can give you inspiration as well–you might find yourself wanting to set a scene there, or the change of scenery might get you past a block. It’s all about getting out of a rut and waking your brain up.

People. I have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances and they’re all fascinating and unique in their own ways. I find myself weaving traits of people I know into my characters, or expanding on and twisting those traits in ways that breathe life into my imaginary people. Observing people is the best way to learn how to make people. We’re all fundamentally human but we all have little things that make us special and interesting.

Music. I’m incredibly inspired by music. Songs are mini stories and oftentimes tell epic tales in just a few minutes. That’s why music is an art form. Music shakes up my creative brain and makes me want to write something.

Myself. My life, present and past, often seeps into my stories in some way. We put a lot of ourselves into our art and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit it. A personal memory can be inspiration for a great scene or even a whole story. The things we’ve learned throughout life can be lessons for our characters. If you’re feeling like the world is drab and boring and void of inspiration, try looking inside yourself instead.

Other stories. The tales that come from other writers make me want to write too. There’s nothing more inspiring than a good book. What most of us call ‘originality’ is just a different take on someone else’s tale. Humans like to pass around ideas and themes, and through reading you can find one you like and put your own spin on it.

Writing itself. Writing begets more writing, it really does. Like any other art form, it’s practice that makes it work like a well oiled machine.

How about you? Where do you get YOUR ideas from?

Filed under: About Me, Behind The Scenes Tagged: creativity, inspiration, me, personal life, writing

Monday Funday

I didn’t get a whole lot of participation for Monday Funday last week, but I’m going to stick with it–because I like fun, darn it! And even if you don’t want to participate, you might still have fun with the links I provide (it also gives me something to blog about).

What sort of things can you share on Monday Funday?

– Links to fun/interesting/cool websites that you think others would enjoy.

– Links to articles and blog posts that you think are awesome.

– Pictures (nothing pornographic, violent, or depicting anything illegal or inciting, though)

– Stories: tell us something good! Personal stories, anecdotes, flash fiction, whatever you’d like to share.

– Anything else that might be fun: jokes, contests, time wasters, pictures of cats, whatever you think others would enjoy.

There’s just a few rules:

– This is NOT for self-promotion. Please don’t promote your own work, website, or social media accounts. I don’t want this to become just a promotions post. I want it to be for sharing fun and interesting things (not that your work isn’t fun and interesting, but if we have enough requests for it, maybe I’ll start a pimp-your-work day on the blog too).

– This is my blog and I reserve the right to remove anything offensive, harmful, or not within the spirit of the theme.

My Monday Funday links:

The Cutest Blog On The Block – This site has tons and TONS of free graphics, templates, buttons, banners, and whatever else you need to make your website look pretty. And they’re super cute! I used some of their graphics in the early versions of my site.

The Color Thesaurus – For when you want to describe colors in your writing a little more vividly. Also: The Emotion Thesaurus

Authorgraph – Give your readers autographs on their Kindle! Get autographs from your favorite authors on your Kindle!

Pixlr – Free online photo editing software. I actually make all my graphics with this.

Cute Boys With Cats – The best Instagram.

Cute Girls With Cats – If you prefer instead.

And here’s a picture of me getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day this year (yes, I have a cast on, I broke my wrist in February).

Now you share some of your fun in the comments! Happy Monday Funday, everyone!

Filed under: Monday Funday