IWSG 12 Year Celebration!

 The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!  

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September Question: The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?

Happy Anniversary IWSG!!!

12 years - almost a teenager!

I remember when IWSG first started. I didn't join right away because life was overwhelming at that point. I also didn't feel like a "real" author yet and Imposter Syndrome was all-consuming. I still deal with Imposter Syndrome daily, but I manage to shove it to the side and get words written and published anyway.

For years, I read and responded to tons of IWSG blog posts, but I didn't post my first post until July 2016. That seems like such a long time ago now!

I wrote my first short story in response to the IWSG Anthology prompt of a ticking clock. I'd never written a short story before but an idea I loved popped into my head and it was selected for the anthology.

Having Until Release accepted and published was the boost I needed to start finding my way through Imposter Syndrome. If that hadn't happened, I'm not sure I would have ever had the confidence to publish.

Now, here we are in 2023 and I've published a nonfiction book on Dementia, 10 Bloo Moose Romances, 4 Small Town Heroes Romances (#5 Built Of Illusions releases on Sept 19!!) and I'm halfway through drafting the stories for my next series.

I'm so grateful to Alex for creating the IWSG and to the many (MANY!) friends I've discovered through the blogs. Not only is Alex a terrific author, he's a genuinely kind and generous human being!

So Happy Bloggiversary to Alex and the IWSG! Thanks for everything you do!!

How about you? Has the IWSG given you a much needed boost?

IWSG & Saving Civilization

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!  

The awesome co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria! 

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Before we get to today's question, I want to give a shout out to our own Elle Cardy/Lynda Young. Her latest book, Well of Ash is SO GOOD!!! The world-building blows my mind and the characters are amazing! Be sure to check it out!

No one knows who built the Great Wells across the world or why. To linger near makes the skin crawl and the mind drift in nightmares. Yet this one calls to Ash in whispers that pull her closer. Soon she’s caught in a mystery that can kill. She must find the answers before she loses her sanity and her life.

If you like dragons, magic, and a fierce heroine with a wounded heart, then you’ll love Well of Ash, a YA Fantasy novella by Elle Cardy. Available now as an ebook and paperback on Amazon. OR, for a limited time, pick up a free copy when you join Elle’s VIP newsletter club.

November 4 question - Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?

Well, I'm not sure Bloo Moose is going to save civilization, but I love the quote!

I've always been a reader and I've "told" stories in my head since I was very small. I was too shy/awkward to share and didn't actually write any of them down until well after my own kids were born.

Once I wrote my first story (a really angsty Star Trek TNG story with all kinds of equality themes going on) I realized that creating the stories was fun. And (strangely) going through the story to make it better was fun too. Learning the craft proved to be fun as well.

I wrote my first short story because the prompt intrigued me. This became my first published story (Until Release in the Tick Tock IWSG anthology) and it gave me the confidence to get my work out there.

Dancing With Dementia was written because dementia had crashed into my family and writing about it helped me process it all in the hopes of helping others.

My Bloo Moose series is contemporary romantic suspense. Reaching For Christmas releases on Tuesday and it will be book 5, I'm working on book 7 for NaNo. I write in this genre because it's all about overcoming obstacles within ourselves and teaming up to take on another obstacle. And Hope. My books are always about Hope. 

So, I guess my rather convoluted answer is that I write because it's fun, it helps me process life and it gives me hope for the future.

How about you? Anyone else start off with Fan Fiction? Anyone write to help process their lives or to bring hope into your own? Or are you out to save civilization? We need that!

I'm also visiting with the amazing Denise Covey today talking about rapid release. Hope to see you there!

IWSG & My Writing Space

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

And we’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive! Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

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December 5th Question: What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?

• Laptop (obviously!)
• Mug of Chai tea - resting on a mug warmer
• My R2D2 USB key sitting beside my BB8 Pez dispenser
• A LotR map on the wall
• Framed quotes of the 1st lines of my favourite books as well as my 1st published story (Until Release in Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime)

How about you - what fun things are in your writing (or reading!) space? 

WEP Challenge News!

Fun news!

My story for the Deja Vu/Voodoo  in the WEP (Write - Edit - Publish) challenge took 2nd place in the contest!

Congrats to Kalpana for the first place story - which is seriously awesome & made me wonder about the apps I've downloaded!!

Thanks to the organizers for the honour - there were so many terrific stories. I'm thrilled Jonah made an impact :)

Between this and my Until Release story in Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime, I've definitely become a fan of writing shorter fiction! Who knew????

The next WEP challenge will be in December - Ribbons & Candles. I hope you'll join in!

Thanks again to the fabulous WEP team!

How about you? Do you enjoy writing or reading flash fiction?

IWSG & Writing Goals Over at Tick Tock

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Hi everyone! I'm over at the Tick Tock blog today discussing my writing goals - hope you'll pop on over!!

IWSG and Titles Are Hard!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

And we’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive! Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

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June 6 question - What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

There is absolutely no contest with this answer!

Titles are SO HARD!!!!

I have fun with character names, but titles drive me absolutely batty!

I make lists.

The lists are full of cheesy, terrible titles.

I skim the story searching for The Phrase that will become the title.

I write down themes and big ideas.

I think about settings.

I play with character names.

I search for appropriate idioms.

I whimper.

Titles are hard.

Strangely, the title for my short story UNTIL RELEASE was easy because it was so obvious. Once you've read the story, you'll probably see why - the words Until Release come up a lot!

If only titles were all that easy!

How about you? Do titles make you weep too?

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PS - UNTIL RELEASE is available now in the Dancing Lemur Press anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime.

Amazon.            B&N.             Kobo.            iTunes.      

Goodreads.       Facebook

Until Release & Villains

Hi everyone!

I'm over at Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime blog today - talking about Voldemort and Miss Congeniality.

I hope you'll pop on over to check it out!

Until Release Visits Anna Dye

I'm visiting over at Anna Dye's blog today talking about my upcoming story, Until Release, that is available NOW in the Dancing Lemur Press anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime.

Hope to see you there!

Amazon.            B&N.             Kobo.            iTunes.      

Goodreads.       Facebook

Until Release is HERE!

Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime is out and about in the real world today!!!!!
(And, yes, I might be alternately happy dancing and biting my fingernails!)

I hope you'll pick up your copy (if you haven't preordered) and check out all of the stories. They are SO GOOD!

I love how the voices, styles, and topics in the anthology vary so greatly, yet all mesh together to make a fabulous whole. You're going to really enjoy the read!

Thanks again to Dancing Lemur Press & the IWSG judges for including UNTIL RELEASE in this fabulous anthology!

Goodreads
Amazon B&N Kobo iTunes

We're also on Facebook!

Until Release & Tick Tock

Today I'm posting my very first post on the Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime blog!

I'm thrilled that my story will be included in the Dancing Lemur Press anthology that will be released in May. I hope you'll pop on over to the blog and learn a little bit more about my story and one of the characters!

If you'd like to add the anthology to your To Read or To Buy list, here are the links:

Goodreads
Amazon B&N Kobo ITunes

You'll have to read Until Release to see if the question above gets an answer! See you at Tick Tock!

We Do The Drills

We do the drills
to keep kids safe
in case the unthinkable
happens

We do the drills
to give them
a tiny sense
of control

We do the drills
to combat
the helplessness

We do the drills
in hopes
the drills will save them

We do the drills
knowing they're
never going to save us all

We do the drills


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On a lighter note, I'd love it if you popped on over to C. Lee McKenzie's blog where I'm a featured author today introducing my story Until Release that will be published in the upcoming anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime!