Book Release: Spindelkin

It's finally release day for Spindelkin! 🌳🌸🍂🐀

Get this YA fairytale from your favorite online bookstore in paperback or e-book.

In the heart of the beautiful city of Katra, princess Amira has spent all her eleven years confined to her room. Cursed with a spell, poison runs through her veins and must be drained away every day or she will die. Kept company by only a stream of temporary maids and the king and queen when they have time, she dreams of what lies outside the castle walls, a sibling to play with, and a future she will likely never live to see. As Amira’s strength wanes, the king thinks that her salvation may lay in the distant forest, but the Spindelskov is inhabited by the nightmarish Spindelkin. The king and queen are unwilling to face them, fearing the creatures will plunge all of Katra into ruin. When the queen gives birth to a prince, Amira begs her maid to help her sneak out to meet her brother. Born with a tail and golden scales, the queen declares the baby a monster and he is left to die. Not bothered by his appearance, Amira promises the tiny prince that she will help him. Gathering her remaining strength, Amira sets out on a journey through the Spindelskov, searching for answers that may save them both.

You can get signed copies of all my books shipped from me to you (within the US)

Or get a copy from your favorite online retailer:

Amazon

Bookshop.org

B&N

And many more!

Tune in next Saturday for another book release!

May The Fourth Be With You

It's been a busy month....and May just started! 

I kicked off the month with my first time at the 3-day the Whitestown Viking Festival in Indiana. Though it was super windy and we got rained out on Saturday, vendors and event goers had a great time. Lots of music, reenactments, horn-blowing, and beer and mead. 

Then it's back to work, and planning book releases before heading off on Friday to the Royal Stagg Renaissance Faire for the weekend for more book signing fun. 

Book releases? Yes! Spindelkin is available now, but officially launches on May 14 and Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan launches on May 21. Links are in the side bar to the left. You can also by signed copies directly from me (shipped within the US) by using the tab above. More on both of those books closer to release days.

May 14, I'll be doing a release day signing for Spindelkin in Holland, MI at the Bluestocking Bookshop.

May 27 - 29, you can find plain old author me at the Newaygo Memorial Day Craft Show with fellow author Vera West and I should have both new books with me. 

Then can I take a break to catch my breath? Ummm sorta. I'm working on Frayed to get it ready for Kindle Vella, and I'm playing around with another Narvan companion novel. And modifying my tent cover for ren faire events...and adding beading a skirt for one of my ren faire dresses. And I have three weekend events next month.

Will I spontaneously combust one of these days? Probably.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

And now on to the Insecure Writer's Support Group question of the month: It's the best of times; it's the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?

Writer Highs: 

When readers tag me in posts or send messages/emails saying they liked one of my books. For those of you not behind the pen, you have no idea how uplifting these little notes are. They can offset a bad review, the weariness of round twelve of edits, or the days when words just refuse to form sentences on the page. 

Meeting new-to-me readers and returning ones at events. Sitting in my writing cave is calm and peaceful but also very disconnected. It's energizing to chat with the people who I write for (other than me).

Getting to be the face of who authors are for kids (or anyone, really), who is excited to meet an author in person for the first time. We love to talk to you about books, what you're reading, what you like, what we like, and what we write and answer your questions.

Writer Lows: 

Not having days off because you have a day job and spend your weekends out promoting books. It's fun, but it's also tiring. 

Starting a new project, knowing all the work that lays ahead.

Selling so many copies of your books but hardly anyone leaves Amazon reviews no matter how nicely you ask.

It was all calm until April hit

While the weather is warming up outside, my task list is heating up as well. And just in time for my event schedule to kick in full swing! Yay?

With the snow melting away, that means lots of yardwork to do. Thousands of sticks to pick up, leaves to rake, the garden the plant, flowerbeds to clean out, and a new chicken run to put up. Just a few things.

And then there are writing projects:

Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan is off to proofreaders.

Spindelkin is in final line edits.

Frayed is hanging out, waiting for an editing pass before getting started on Kindle Vella. It may be venturing out to my local critique group for a while while I juggle everything else.

A possible second Narvan Novel announced itself in my brain today - taking place four years after Seeker. OMG, stop the muse train. I need a moment to breathe.

I also need to write blurbs for both Seeker and Spindelkin and get the cover art finalized.

And I'd love a little quiet. The chicks I posted photos of last month are all growing fast and as soon as the nights are reliably above freezing, will be moving out to the coop. They are currently peeping away at each other signaling that its time to get on the roost for the night. They do this for about forty-five minute straight. It sounds cute. And it is for the first couple nights...

While I do all that, I've been busy finalizing my 2022 event schedule. With the possible addition of two more single day events, I'm done. Stick a fork in me. Maybe that will hold me down. 

Can I effectively juggle my book inventory during all this? Tune in to find out.

Coming up soon:

April 8 - 10 Grand Rapids Spring Fling Comic Con

April 22 - 23 Penguicon (virtual attendance)

April 24 Tulip City Comic Con

April 29 - May 1 Viking Festival

May 7 & 8 Royal Stagg Ren Faire

May 27 - 29 Newaygo Memorial Day Art Fair

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Which brings us to the Monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group portion of the post. This month's question deals with audio books. I haven't yet ventured into those. I've had plenty of readers ask for them, but that just hasn't been on my priority list yet. 

So I'm going to jump to another topic instead. Too many projects. How do you manage them? 

I try to prioritize what needs to happen when so that I have a new book in the spring, and one in the fall. That's my goal. However, this year, things seem to have gone hilly nilly right out of the gate. Seeker was supposed to be my spring launch, but there were a lot more edits than anticipated, which added significantly to the word count (not complaining, I love how it turned out), which made line edits take much longer than planned. Then we add me picking up twice as many ren faires as I've done in the past, which lit a fire under my behind to get my YA fantasy Spindelkin ready for print so I could launch that early summer instead of fall. That derailed my plan to spend a month getting Frayed up on Kindle Vella. And then this new Narvan novel shows up, pounding on my door with a vengeance. Deep cleansing breath.

Writing is a juggling act. I'm going to attempt to stick with softly inflated beach balls rather than chain saws. Wish me luck.

Marching into Spring

There may still be snow on the ground but at least the sun is shining now and then. Soon enough yard work will be back on the weekend agenda. Until then, I'm busy working on Seeker : Book 4 of The Narvan. The fine tuning edits are going slowly but I'm nearing halfway done. The final book in the main series is shaping up to be a long one, but hopefully also fulfilling for all the characters and wrapping up the series plot. 

Spindelkin is leaving Kindle Vella as I type this. The YA Fantasy novel is next up for going to print once I get Seeker out to proofreaders. 

Frayed, a YA urban fantasy (work in progress) will be hitting Kindle Vella as soon as I have time to get the first chapters edited and uploaded. Here's the cover so far. I'll be playing with it for months, I'm sure. I'm still playing with the cover for Spindelkin, for goodness sake. Nothing is set in stone until it goes to print. 

Upcoming book signing events:

Hall of Heroes Con in Elkhart IN - March 5-6

Grand Rapids Women's Expo in Grand Rapids, MI - March 18-20

Grand Rapids Spring fling Comic Con in Grand Rapids, MI - April 8-10

Tulip City Comic con in Holland, MI - April 24

Whitestown Viking Festival in Whitestown, IN - April 29 - May 1

And speaking of the Viking Festival, I finally finished sewing my new garb.  I had to relearn how to weave. It's been a long time since the fiber arts weeks of art class in high school. All the trim is tablet woven, which, in theory was going to give me some time to kick back and watch Netflix while I worked on it, but it turns out you have to have to actually pay attention to what you're doing. (My first strip has a about five different patterns in it because I kept losing count.)Well, crap. I ended up switching to an easier pattern for the rest of it and still had to keep flipping a paper to remind myself whether I was going forward or backward. Short term memory and I are not great friends. 

Lots of layers for all weather. 

Squeezing out the last wavering inches of tablet weaving.
Its is professional? No. Will it suffice? Yep.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Which brings us to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: 

Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to your story?

The short answer: Yes, but I almost always write them anyway. It's just whether I let anyone else ever see them. 

But seriously, I'm just gonna go ahead and overthink that question. Long answer: Sure. But for multiple reasons. 

A. The story or scene is too close to home. I'm pretty sure I touched on this one in a previous IWSG post. Writing is a good place to work though difficult emotions or situations, like therapy, able to distance ourselves a little and see it through a character instead of ourselves. But sometimes those things are too private or sensitive to share or might offend family members if they see through the thin veil of fiction.

B. I'm just not ready to tell that story. I don't have enough experience or knowledge of a topic or lifestyle to accurately covey what I want to show. Or it's not a genre I'm comfortable writing yet. There are a few stories lurking on my hard drive that are waiting for me to do research/gain life experience.

C. The scene might not fit in the book as a whole, but I'm jonesing to write it anyway. I almost always give into to this urge and see where it goes. It's about 70/30 in favor of ending up in the book, often with major edits to make it mesh, but these are usually great emotional moments or add depth of character.

And if you've made it this far though this month's blog post. You deserve chicks. Meet the newest additions to my flock. 

Olive Egger

Midnight Mystic Maran

Blue-laced Golden Wyandotte

Congratulations, you made it to the end. :) What are you up to this month?

Spring Book Events and IWSG

It's winter here in West Michigan. Lots of snow, temps in the teens during the day, and snow plows galore. This is grey and white, our official winter color pallet.

Winter means we're not spending much time outside. I'm not a snow loving person other than to sit inside and look out at it. Ah yes, pretty. Now, back under my blanket with a warm computer on my lap. During nature's break from yard work, I'm busy booking events, sewing, and working on edits for Seeker. 

You can find me in Michigan and Indiana this Spring:

Feb 5 Byron Rec Comic con

Feb 11-13 Lansing Women's Expo

March 5-6 Hall of Heroes Con 

March 18-20 Grand Rapids Women's Expo

April 8-10 Grand Rapids Comic Con Spring Fling

April 24 Tulip City Comic Con

April 29 - May 1 Whitestown Viking Festival

What have I been sewing? Well, I'm doing five Ren Faire events this year and all are multi-day, so I decided to make a new set of clothes with options. Also, the first event is a Viking Festival, which I simply don't have anything to wear for (dramatic sigh) so a new outfit was in order. Being in April means it could be cold. Could be warm. One never knows. An outfit with options was needed. Layers!

This is layer one. It's super soft and comfy. I do have one ren faire dress that's form fitting and let me tell you, it takes two people to get into and laced up. I'm often without a maid at these things so I'm favoring comfort and ease these days. I'll leave the sexy wench and corset garb to the younger people. Ideally, I need to get a long leather belt for the waist but that's later add-on right now.

This is layer two. Or layer one if its a nice day. Its lighter weight. There are two more layers that I've yet to sew. Or cut the patterns for, actually. Lots of projects going on here. Then I'm going to attempt some weaving for more traditional trim, which I haven't done since high school. As you may gather, that was a while ago.

You may remember from last month that I was attempting to finish a cross stich project from fifteen years ago. Well, I did it! I don't recommend letting your project sit around for fifteen years as the colors fade, you discover that you weren't paying very close attention to the pattern fifteen years ago, and the cloth isn't actually as cream-colored (it was dirty and a bit stained on the edges) as you thought it was. But it's done and I'm happy with how it turned out (mostly that its done). 

And this brings us to February's Insecure Writer's Support Group part of my month's post. Do I intend to write more than a monthly post? Sure. Do I actually do it?  Uhhh,.. Is it next month already? 

This month's question is: Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn't around anymore? 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

This is kind of a sore spot for me. Support wasn't something I had much of early on. I had a few teachers in elementary school that encouraged me to write. One high school creative writing teacher did her fair share of encouraging too. She passed away years ago. However, when it came to friends and family, there were a lot of crickets. 

When my first short stories were published twelve years ago, I had a family member buy a copy. I thought I was onto something, but even when my first couple books were published, its was crickets in the support gang. I wasn't until I'd been published for ten years (no, seriously) that family and friends really started catching on and actively supporting, encouraging, and buying. 

So for those of you who feel lonely out there in the book-filled world, your time will also come. As with all aspects of writing, patience is key. And hey, support is what this group is all about, right? 

Guest Post: The Business of Short Stories Book Release

Whether you're looking to add short stories to your repertoire as a solo pursuit or in addition to novel writing, The Business of Short Stories covers every aspect from writing to marketing. Learn the dynamics of short story writing, where to focus your editing efforts, how and where to submit, how to handle acceptances and rejections, what to do with reprints, and how to market yourself and your stories online and in person. The information in The Business of Short Stories has been distilled from over a decade of short story publishing experience so you don't have to learn the hard way. You'll find information on submission formatting, cover letters, querying a collection, sending proposals to writing events, how to create a website, SEO, social media, and so much more. This is an invaluable resource for short story writers.

There's never been a better time to get into short stories!

ISBN: 978-1-7320314-5-6

Format/Price: Print ($13.99) and e-book ($3.99)

Release Date: February 1, 2022

Pre-order E-book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PFSTJ2V
Paperback pre-order link coming soon!

Shannon Lawrence has made a career of short stories, with over a decade of experience and more than fifty short stories published in magazines and anthologies. In addition, she's released three horror short story collections with a mix of new and previously published stories. Her true crime podcast Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem is going into its third season. 

Website: www.thewarriormuse.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewarriormuse

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewarriormuse

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewarriormuse/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/shannon-lawrence

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/shannondkl

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shannon-Lawrence/e/B00TDKPOAO

Podcast Website: www.mysteriesmonstersmayhem.com

2022 One Word, IWSG, and Upcoming Events

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to start looking forward in to the new year. Tiptoeing. Quietly. Not touching aaaanything.

I haven't had much luck with my One Word Resolutions the past few years due to the world falling apart and various other things out of my control, but hey, why not play along like this year might be different? I'm going to play it safe with RECOVER. 

Currently I have a cold. Just one of those plain old chest colds that due to the coughing, make everyone run for the hills. I've had Covid. I'm sure I can handle a cold. Other than recovering from that, I'm looking forward to recovering some spring events that were still cancelled in 2021, some mythical 'free time' that went to taking care of my MIL and my daughter during their heath crises, and some mental wellness by doing some of the non-writing hobbies that I haven't made time for in years. 

One of those is a cross stitch that I started at least fifteen years ago and has sat untouched on the stand, 2/3 done, staring at me longingly, for the past seven years. Current goal: finishing this thing! It matches a plate that my grandmother gave me. I'd like to get them framed together. Eventually.

Those events I'm hoping to recover? Here's my spring line up:

Feb 5 Byron Rec Comic Con

Feb 11-13 Lansing Women's Expo

March 5-6 Hall of Heroes Con

March 18-20 Grand Rapids Women's Expo

April 8-10 Grand Rapids Spring Comic Con

April 24 Tulip City Comic Con

April 29- May 1 Whitestown Viking Fest

And that brings us to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question:

What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

 overcome it?

Biggest regret: not having more proofreading early on in my writing career. It seems there are always typos, however, the goal is to have as few as possible or if the angels are smiling upon you, none at all. I've found typos in short stories I've had in various magazines and anthologies. Even in my books that were published by a publisher. So it's no surprise that self-published books often have typos too.

I've learned not to expect anyone else to find them all during the editing/proofing journey. Everything I submit anywhere now goes through a process to eliminate as many of those pesky buggers as possible. This way, editors and proofreaders can hopefully catch the few that are missed rather than being overwhelmed by the brunt of the typo load.

The super secret process? Read the story on screen. Find typos. Print the story, read the pages. Find typos. Have the computer read it too me. Find typos. Read the whole darn thing again. Find significantly less typos. Then it goes to other eyeballs. And still, when it comes back for the final proof before printing, I'll read it again, and find a few more to fix. Every. Darn. Time. 

We're all human. Typos and all.

NaNoWriMo, Planning Ahead, and IWSG

And November crawls to a close. For the second time ever, I stalled out before 50K. I'm okay with this. I've won far more than my fair share of NaNos. Too much stress this year, overtime, overbooked, and very little sleep. I've been perpetually exhausted for months. So at 35K, I found peace with just letting go. I'll get back to the story at some point. It was going well and I was enjoying it. Frayed, being urban fiction, is something totally different than what I've written before and I'd like to see how this emotionally charged story wraps up.

On deck for December: wrapping up Spindelkin on Kindle Vella. The story is done, it just needs a bit of editing and then getting the second half of the novel posted. Click the cover off to the left if you'd like to give this YA dark fairy tale a try. The first three chapters are free. Also on the agenda: sleep, quiet time, recharging the internal battery, and copious amounts of ice cream and hot chocolate.

January will be devoted to making a few minor tweaks to my current novels, taking inventory for events for the new year, and finalizing my book signing schedule. At them moment, it's looking like 28 weekends. Cutting that to 26 is ideal, but we'll see. I'll be focusing on Renaissance Fairs, Comic Cons, and larger art festivals in 2022. 

February is my scheduled month to dive into the last edits of Seeker: Book 4 of the Narvan. I hope to have it completed by April/May. 

Beyond that, I intend to get Spindelkin out in print by fall or it may wait until spring 2023. No crazy five book publishing plan for 2022.  Is any of that subject to change? Sure, my motivation goes in spurts and sometimes I just have to roll with it, but at the moment, my motivation is declaring a well-deserved vacation.

Books make great gifts! You can purchase signed copies of all of my books and have them shipped directly from me to you by clicking on the "Buy Signed Copies" tab at the top. 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

And now to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: In your writing, what stresses you most and what delights you?

Not a whole lot stresses me with writing. There's plenty of that outside of my fingers on keyboard. Usually writing is my happy place. But in the spirit of answering the question, I'll go with getting through the middle. Stories always start out with a sort of manic energy, when you're full of ideas and excitement about seeing this new word baby flow on to the page. But that wears off. It can be easy to wander off to other new projects or begin to doubt that you're on to something worthwhile for all the time you're spending on it. If there's anything I've learned in all the novels I've written, or started writing, the middle is where I trail off. If I can get past that 50 to 60% point, we're golden. 

Delights me? Seeing a story come together, when the dots connect, the plot threads tighten, the characters come alive. There's some of that in the first draft to be sure, but a lot of the most gratifying moments happen in edits, once the whole story is in my head and I can see how to pull it together tighter, and add those emotional or detailed scenes that I breezed over in the first draft. There's a lot of delight in writing. Thankfully. That's why we keep doing it, isn't it? Or maybe we're just mad. :)

Book Release, IWSG, and NaNo!

First, the exciting news... The Minor Years is now available in paperback from your favorite online retailers. 

On idyllic Veria Minor, Anastassia struggles to fit into a life she never wanted. She’s lost everything she’s worked so hard for.

According to her cover story, she’s now an acolyte Seeker, a mother, and wife of Isnar Ka’turoc. In reality, the Council’s torture has left her with only a whisper of her telepathy, she doesn’t know the first thing about raising a kid, and the man she’s stuck with is the same one who ruined her life. If she wants to stay among the living, she must learn to forgive and adapt.

When the Narvan unexpectedly falls into Jey and Merkief’s hands, the one thing on both of their minds is revenge. Kess killed Anastassia and Vayen, but he now has the High Council’s protection. To make things worse, he’s been awarded the advisory position for the Narvan’s neighboring system, including control over the wealthy planet of Merchess, which had provided much of the Narvan’s funding.

Strapped for credits, at each other’s throats, and attempting to meet the High Council’s demands, Jey and Merkief wage a covert battle with Kess. If the violence explodes, everyone will suffer.

Available at all your favorite online retailers or visit me at Grand Rapids Comic Con Nov 12-14 or at the Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland on Nov 27.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Minor-Years-Jean-Davis/dp/B09JV9SMMR

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../the-minor.../1140385885

Direct from me: https://link.waveapps.com/h6pd82-z9s9y9

Ebook links are coming soon.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Next up is this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: What is harder to do, coming up
with the book title or writing the blurb?

While titles take their sweet time coming to me, I'm going to have to go with writing the blurb. Having to stare at the entire novel and figure out what bits create the most enticing blurb without giving too much away but also providing enough detail is challenging. The two things (now that I've done a bunch of them) are:

1. Focus on what happens in the first few chapters rather than the whole book. The stakes obviously have to draw from the main plot, but the characters and what they generally face are often laid out at the beginning.

2. Write a synopsis. Somewhere about book seven or eight, those vile things started coming to me before I even write the book. I credit that to the agony of having to write seven or eight of them from the whole novel after the fact. My brain apparently said, ok, enough of that! Let's just start there and then write the book. So while I still claim to mostly be a pantser, I guess this edges me toward planster territory. Staring at one to three pages of the synopsis is much easier to digest for blurb purposes than trying to analyze the whole novel.

And that brings us to National Novel Writing Month.

I'm launching into an Urban Fantasy this year for something different. That's been on my list of Speculative Fiction subgenres to try for a while now. After spending so much time on YA books Spindelkin and The Traveling Circus and The Skeleton Key last year, I'm having to make a conscious effort to drag myself back into writing for the adult market.

Don't get me started on the title. I don't have one. Currently, the project is known as "Witty Title". I usually find the actual title as I write. Since I'm only on chapter two, it will likely be a while before that happens. So far things are moving along smoothly thanks to my handy synopsis.

If you're participating in NaNoWriMo and want to be buddies, I'm Gypsywitch on the NaNo site.

And now I better get back to writing because sadly, this blog post doesn't apply toward my daily word count.

The Calm Before November

October is, quite thankfully, turning out to be a quiet month on most fronts. I may have overbooked myself just sliiiiightly in all of 2021. Technically I overbooked myself for 2020 because 2019 went so well, but then most everything rolled over and weekends collided and more event opportunities became available that I hadn't signed up for yet. Partner that with my ambitious publishing schedule, being down with covid myself, caring for MIL, and my daughter's health issues...and well, it all got to a lot too much. So when two events cancelled this month, I was very okay with that. I've spent one quiet day working in my very weedy flower garden and another zoning out to Netflix. (currently wrapping up TURN: Washington's Spies after watching the last season of Lucifer after all of Arrow) No. I do no have a Netflix binge problem. I'm totally fine. 

Given that previous paragraph, it shouldn't be a huge shock to say that I'm officially bumping Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan to a Spring release. I'm waiting for Minor Years to appear in my inbox tonight from the proofreader. That book, if my world doesn't fall apart, should be out at some point in November. 

If you've read Trust and would like a review e-book copy of Minor Years - which directly follows Trust and leads up to Chain of Grey), let me know in the comments below.  

My plans for October involve formatting Minor Years, relaxing, doing a quick outline for my upcoming NaNoWriMo project, relaxing, signing books at Fandom Fest in Benton Harbor MI, relaxing, and doing some more weeding in my garden. 

Why all the need for relaxing? I mean, on top of that first paragraph of ugh? November is NaNoWriMo year 16 for me and that means its time to churn out a super rough draft of new novel! And also, do book signings every weekend. Then there's that Thanksgiving thing, and only my daughter knows if she's sticking with college or moving back home and whatever that might bring. Woo boy. I'm exhausted just looking at this.

Will I book myself a little lighter next year? Yes. Will I not publish 5 books next year? Yes. Have I learned a little something here? Yep. Will I continue to spend too much time watching Netflix? Also, yeeessssss.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Which brings us to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: Where in your writing do you draw the line with topics or language?

If you've read my books, you undoubtedly know that language is a no line thing. I am no lady. I swear like a sailor as do most of my characters. Some far more than others, but yes, profanity abounds. 

Topics, however, are a different. I try to steer clear of  most controversial topics because I want readers to enjoy the story rather than listen to me preach my views. 

I did once write a suicide story. It was heartbreaking and written to help my cope with the loss of a cousin. Once it was complete, I read it and then deleted it. Not because it was horrible, but because it had fulfilled its purpose. To this day, that's the only story I've ever deleted. Everything else, even the cringe-worthy garbage, is gathering dust somewhere on a shelf or hard drive. I suppose, to answer the question, I draw the line at stories that are too personal or might hurt people I know no matter how fictionalized the content might be. 

Are you doing NaNo this year? Are you a fan of swearing or not?

 

Cover Reveal and IWSG September

It took nine months but I'm finally feeling sort of kind of maybe on top of things for a day or two. Shhh, I didn't actually say that out loud. *looks around nervously*

The Minor Years - a Narvan Novel has been sent of to the proof reader as of Monday morning. The cover is mostly done. The blurb is written. The cover? I should share that, shouldn't I? 

I'm excited to share this novel with everyone this fall. It's a companion novel to the main series, told from the point of view of the secondary characters and takes place in the gap between Trust and Chain of Grey.

An official release day is coming. Stay tuned!

Seeker: The Narvan Book 4 is hanging out in Canada with Stella. Check out her book and her book reviews while you wait for her to finish putting red marks all over mine. 

In other news, I'm working on a short story for a special project while waiting for another author to finish her edits so I can proofread her next book. And brainstorming on a proposed new co-authored series. Always plenty of projects. Never a dull moment!

Where can you find me this month?

Newaygo Logging Festival - Newaygo, MI - Sept 3-5

Frontier Days - Charlotte, MI - Sept 10- 12

Monroe Pop Fest - Monroe, MI - Sept 17 & 18

Berlin Flea Market - Marne, MI - Sept 25

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Which brings us to... this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: How do you define success as a writer? 

Success is a lot of of things. Finishing a book. Your first book. Your next book. Sticking through any book through the editing process. Getting published. Doing your first book signing. Top of my list would be having readers come back year after year for my newest book. Readers make all the work worthwhile. Thank you, readers!

IWSG - Spindelkin and Upcoming Books

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

August means lots more book signing events, new chapters of Spindelkin and progress on upcoming releases. 

This month, you can find me at:

 August 7 - Art in the Park - Holland, MI

August 14 & 15 - Blueberry Festival - South Haven, MI

August 17 & 18 - Manistee Co. Fair - Manistee, MI

August 21 - Arts and Drafts - Norton Shores, MI

New chapters of Spindelkin are available on Kindle Vella. The first three chapters are free. Vella is also still giving away 200 free credits if you sign up now.  

Princess Amira has heard wondrous stories about the kingdom of Katra, but her illness has kept her from seeing any of it. Her maids last only weeks and the king and queen are busy. When the queen gives birth to a baby boy, Amira hopes to finally have a playmate. But her bother is misshapen like one of the terrifying storybook forest creatures. He’s left alone to die. In order to save him, Amira must defy her parents and everything she’s ever known or face loneliness for the rest of her days.

I've been busy working through my projects along with everything else. The Minor Years is in line edits and Seeker : Book 4 of The Narvan is heading off to developmental editing this weekend. Yay for progress!

And now on to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group Question: What's your favorite writing craft book? 

Stein on Writing has been the most helpful for me. Lots of great advice for character and plot development and just enough humor to get you through the editing process.