IWSG: Whew! That Was A Productive Month

 Last month flew by while I was wrapped up in so many things. Getting back out to meet readers in person felt really good. As did just being out among people again. 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

The first day of the Newaygo Logging Festival was a tough one. The crowd was fairly steady for a scaled-back event and our booths were all quite spaced out, but it had been nearly seven months since I'd spent a full day being social. I spent the hour ride home in much-needed silence. By the second day, I was feeling more in the spirit of things. By the next weekend at the event in Charlotte I'd found my stride again and everything went smoothly. I've done two more events since. If we connected at one of those shows and you're reading this, it was nice to meet you! 

Thanks to relaxing guidelines, I do have one more show in November in Kalamazoo. I'm still waiting to hear on Grand Rapids Comic Con. With both of those being indoors, things are up in the air with restrictions that seem to change every single day.

In addition to finally getting out to talk to readers again, I've been hard at work on Bound in Blue: Book 3 of The Narvan. The last round of edits is wrapping up and then it will head off the to the proofreader and then it's onward to formatting. Without further ado, here's the cover:

                                        

I've also been busy writing the blurb for the back cover, critiquing chapters for other authors, reading a couple books for fun, and doing a proofread of a book for a local author friend. I'm also plotting my upcoming NaNoWriMo projects and toying with cover art for Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan and Spindelkin. I've been on kind of an artwork kick lately. On the plus side, I started drawing again. I haven't done much of that in a very long time, like probably around twenty-some years.

How was the end of summer for you?

 

IWSG: August and Project Updates

And so we come to another first Wednesday. Normally I'd be dragging my feet after a busy June and 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

July event schedule, facing another five weekends of  August signing events, but alas, tis not the case this ill-fated year. Instead, I've been busy working around the yard, building a new shed to house my chickens and ducks, building a run for them, and putting in a new block firepit area. My yard is getting a lot of attention. 

I've also been writing and doing a bit of editing for friends. Now that Dreams of Star and Lies is out, I'm back at work on my next project. An author I've done many events with invited me to co-write a book with him. I've never co-written anything before so this has been an interesting endeavor, and I would guess not the exact norm on how this is done, but it's working for us. It's also a YA fantasy novel on a G-rated level, which if you've read anything I've written, you'll understand this is not my usual realm, but it's been a good warm-up for getting back into my own YA fantasy, Spindelkin, which is on the older end of YA, whereas this current project is on the younger.

Recently, I reformated his first book and edited the second so I was familiar with the story and characters. This, being book three in the series, has been moving along fairly quickly. He's been writing the bare bones of the plot and I'm fleshing it out. Only two chapters to go and then that is heading off to beta readers. 

Once Book three of Traveling Circus is wrapped up, I'll be diving back into my reissuing of Destiny Pills and Space Wizards. No new content, but updating the front and back matter, new artwork, and formatting to match my more recent books. Next up is a final edit of Book Three of The Narvan, Bound in Blue, once I go over the last round of edit suggestions. When I send that off to my proofreader, I'll be diving into the reformatting of Sahmara and The Last God. Now that I can do reflowable ebooks, I'm looking forward to getting all my books updated. 

I'm hoping to have Bound in Blue mostly wrapped up before November, when NaNoWirMo begins. I'm already toying with what to work on for that. I have a vampire story I'd like to try, and if that falls through, I have a book set in the Navan universe half started and Spindelkin to finish. There's never a lack for things to work on, just the energy to do so. 

And speaking of planning.. This month's IWSG question is: "Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don't write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to be."

Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

Oh heavens, yes. Often when I start a story, when I'm truly pantsing it, I may have an inkling what genre it might be or what length I'm aiming for, but once the words start flowing... Well, the story becomes what it needs to be.  

The only time I know for sure if I'm going to make the story stick to a novel or a short story, is during NaNo because I need to have at least a very loose plan to make it to 50k in 30 days. That loose plan might only be genre, a character name and an inkling of the beginning scene or end, but it's a plan nevertheless. 

Most of the short stories I've written started without any particular genre in mind. Those usually launch with a concept or 'what if' question and wander into whatever genre fits as I go.

How about you?

December IWSG and Post NaNo Wrap up

Another month has sped by with a flurry of activity.  

Writing:

I was busy writing away on my new project for November's annual effort during National Novel Writing Month. In my many travels at book selling events there's been a need for more kids books in the sci-fi fantasy genre. Something around upper middle grade, but not quite young adult. So many kids pick up my books but sadly, its the ones not appropriate for their age. While A Broken Race and Destiny Pills & Space Wizards does fit for teens, I have nothing to offer in that 8-12 year old range. So, this November, I set out to fill that gap in my book offerings. Thus, Spindelkin was born, a fantasy story about an 11 year old girl and her journey to find out who she truly is this fairytale world.

In my usual rebel NaNo form, I also had a second project going, working on whichever story fit my brain on a given day. The second project? A companion book within The Narvan universe. So, sort of  Book 5, but in actuallity, Book 1.5, as it takes place in the gap between Trust (book 1) and Chain Of Grey (book 2) that gives some of the other characters time to have the spotlight for once.  Confused yet? Sorry. It's a book that I'm working on. We'll leave it at that. 

Publishing:

Several people have asked when Chain Of Grey is coming out. My hope was Fall 2019. However, the publisher had delays and now has announced they are closing shop as of the end of the year. Which means, my best answer for you is Spring 2020 when I release it myself. 

Also in the works is a new short story collection (currently in need of a witty name), featuring several longer science fiction stories along with a few shorter ones. From my recollection of said stories (one of which was also on a couple year hold for an anthology through said publisher) I believe this collection will also be YA friendly. 

Events:

Oh. My. Goodness. What a November. And also December. I've really enjoyed meeting those of you who are readers as well as reconnecting with author friends when we share a table/booth. If you read a book and are looking for another one or haven't made it out to meet me yet, you can find me at:

The Beechwood Church Craft show in Holland on Dec 7 with author Diane Burton (mystery, science fiction romance and MG Science Fiction

The Holland Civic Center Holiday Craft show in Holland on Dec 14 with author Joan Young (mysteries for adult and MG and nonfiction hiking adventures)

Author Pop Up Night at the Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland on Dec 19 with authors Vera West (sci-fi romance), Diane Burton, and Troy Wymer (sci-fi and sci-fi romance)

Muskegon Barnes and Noble on Dec 21 signing books with multiple authors to suit all your last minute bookish gift giving needs.

Life: We launched a new home-based business last week and got our first customer today. Because we're already running several home-based endeavors so why not?  Income is always good to diversify!

This was also my 10th and final year acting as Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo. My schedule just doesn't allow for as much time to devote to all the planning and events as I used to have. When I stepped into the role of inciting writers to get out of their homes to write together, to meet one another, to hopefully make long-lasting friendships, I had no idea what to expect. As it turns out, my little region flourished. I've watched writer kids grow up through high school, go off to college, and get engaged. Socially awkward and introverted people made connections and have come back year after year. Writers became more confident. Some even began to pursue publishing. It's been a wonderful journey and many friends have been made. Fortunately, I had two talented people pick up my torch this year so the region is in good hands for the future.

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 month's question is: Let's play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you 
describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

Am I living the dream? Mostly, sorta, yes. So here's what I can tell you if you're not quite there yet. Finish something. Then put that down and finish something else. Keep writing. It's how you discover what you're good at and what you need to work on, and your voice.  

Make writer friends at all stages of your journey, they will help you along the way. 

Realize that finishing a book is just beginning to write the book. 
Revision and editing are what actually makes a book good. 

Understand that getting something published or publishing something yourself doesn't mean you're going to sell thousands of books. You will need to work for it. You will need to talk to people, readers and interviewers. You will need to invest in ads and/or events to get your book in front of people. You need to be active on social media. Selling books is not just about writing books. 

The best part about publishing a book is talking to readers. Yeah, that talking thing again. But having someone come up and tell you they enjoyed what you wrote is a great feeling. So back to that first thing, finish something. :)

Grand Rapids Comic Con and a TV interview

November is always a busy month for me. I'm in the midst of my 14th year of participating in National Novel Writing Month. Yes, I am working on two projects, one new, one continuing, so rebelling a bit, but even with taking three days mostly off of writing for the comic con, I'm still on track, if not a smidge ahead.

Last month, I traveled over toward Detroit to do an interview on Indie Reads TV with Pages and Promotions that aired on CMNTV. If you're interested in checking it out - I always find it interesting to see how people talk and act in person compared to what I'd imagined online - its now available on YouTube.

Grand Rapids Comic Con was a lot of fun and a success for meeting readers and selling books. I shared a booth with a few other authors, because while we're all swimming in cash from the huge successes of our writing careers (that's sarcasm, in case that wasn't clear), we like to pool resources.  My booth included Judith Wade, G.S. Scott and Remearis Brown. It was a long three days of peopling, but we all survived. And because I'd built up a good word count buffer, I didn't fall behind on my NaNo endeavor.

Wearing my festive hat. That was all fun and good but I kept reaching up thinking they were my reading glasses,
which I often wear on my head. Surprise, the hat didn't help me see better.

While I do have four, maybe five more events coming up this year, I'm sticking close to home. Why? Well, for those of you not familiar with the fickle Michigan weather, to give you an example: Fall lasted five days. That was early last week. It was nice. So pretty with changing leaves gently falling from the trees. Then Winter arrived with freezing temperatures and snow flurries. Yesterday we got a foot of snow. Schools were closed. Roads didn't get plowed until late afternoon. Everything was a mess. 85% of us didn't get out during those five lovely days to rake the leaves. Most of the leaves were still on the trees! Now, they're in giant clumps on top of the snow and that will make a fine wet mess if we get a melt before we get hit again.

So yes, if you're looking for me, I'll mostly be in Holland with a trip to Kalamazoo and possibly Muskegon.

Hope your November is going well, and if you're participating in NaNoWriMo, get off the internet and go write your novel!

November. Already? Nano and IWSG

OMG, where has this year gone? I blink and another month has passed. As much as I intend to post more often, that just hasn't happened. So to sum up October, since I last posted...

I finally finished rewriting a short sci-fi story (short as in 12K) that I've been dragging my feet through for a couple years. It's been part of my 'getting stuff done before NaNo endeavor'. I'm feeling pretty good about it and after one more read through to finish cleaning it up, I'll send it off to a couple beta readers. If you're interested in joining in the beta reading fun, drop a comment below with your email address.

Beyond that, I got another short story tweaked and sent back into submissions. According to The Submission Grinder, I fell off the submission train in May. Oops.

In the not writing but writing related category, I did a major cleaning of my writing room, clearing away a lot of notes, sewing projects, and putting up my last NaNo poster (my walls are full, not that I'm done doing NaNo). With all those distractions gone, I may be more inclined to be productive with writing.

I had a great time meeting readers at various events during October and my November schedule is even more full. If you're looking for something to read, I'll be at the pile of events listed on the right between now and Christmas.

And onward into November! I'll be doing year 14 of NaNoWriMo. My intention is to try a middle- grade fantasy novel. We'll see how it goes. I have a raft of backup projects if my motivation veers elsewhere. I've managed 50,000 words or more for 12 of those years so we'll see how this one goes.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

As to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: What's the strangest thing you've ever Googled when researching a story,
I have to give that some thought.

I guess I've googled so many odd things that no particular one of them stands out to me. Lots of medical stuff, along with how long can a person live in various states of injury or circumstance, science stuff about planets and space travel, goodness, the list goes on. All hail Google.

In the spirit of NaNo upon us, I'm going to switch gears to researching in general. Don't let it bog you down in a first draft. Leave notes in your draft as you go so you can easily find the spots that need your research later. If it's a quick question, do a quick search, but don't let tricky internet suck you down the rabbit hole. Keep writing! Names, places, details, dates, it can all be cleaned up later. The important thing is to get the story down from beginning to end (or in whatever order works for you). Once that major accomplishment is done, then spend the time to research those pesky details and polish up the bits around them.

Good luck to all my fellow NaNo participants. If you're looking for buddies, friend me: Gypsywitch.

IWSG: October or should I say...Preptober

It's Preptober. At least that's what the NaNoWriMo people are calling it. Sure why not. So what do us pantsers do for NaNo prep? Typically I'd do nothing. Because: Pantser. The past couple years I've tried a variety of loose prep just to...try.

I've made lists of prompts with the intention of writing a host of short stories. So prepared with ideas, but I ended up writing a novel entirely unrelated to any of the prompts.

I've written a very, very quick and dirty one page outline. That novel fell quickly fell apart. Not for fault of the novel or outline, but my thoughts were elsewhere and I ended up writing something entirely different.

One year I wrote a one page synopsis. That actually worked nicely, by the way.

So this year? I had a dream a couple weeks ago, one of those dreams where you go, OMG this would be a great story if I could flesh it out. I've been mulling it over in my 'free' time. Those that know me, know what a joke that is. But yes, I've been mulling. Last night I wrote five plot points on a tiny piece of paper while waiting to do an author interview. I'm calling that my Preptober effort. Will I end up writing this story? No idea. November is a long way off as far as wandering ideas and fickle inspiration go. But I'm going to try.

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 this month's question: It's been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don't enjoy reading?

I've never heard this before and my general stance is that it's a load of horse hockey. (That may be the allergy meds talking.) Our ideas are influenced by everything around us, not just want we read. The only thing new or original about storytelling is the spin you put on it. There are books on this that outline all the major plots. The thing that makes them interesting is how you put your personal touches on the variables. You, your life experiences and all the media you ingest, are the flavor that colors the words.

Do you need to read? Yes. Though, not necessarily for the ideas. But, reading shows you how to write, how to form story structure, pleasing sentences, interesting characters, robust plots and settings. By reading and finding authors you enjoy, you may end up adopting some of their storytelling style. That's not a bad thing. If they can successfully tell an engaging story and that's your goal, learn from them.

IWSG: December - Success and Failure

Wow, it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post already! 

This month's questions asks:

As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently? 

I'm pretty happy with the past year other than one small endeavor in dealing with a small local publisher. If I had a do over, I would have listened to my gut and avoided that whole interaction. There was no contract and no money involved so no real losses other than one more thing to be annoyed about. Disappointed, sums it up nicely, I guess.  

Without getting into specifics, because I'm not here to bash anyone and other authors seem to love these people, when your gut tells you to keep walking, even when your friends tell you to stop and check it out, listen to your gut. It's there for a reason. When a publisher will not answer emails, update you the status of the project, produces one of the worst covers and blurbs I've seen (and I've lurked on those lousy cover sites), and runs a six month and counting pre-order with no publish date in sight, it's time to walk away and maybe buy your gut an apology gift - like maybe a big chocolate shake or some cheesecake. 

Enough about failures, let's talk about success, because I wouldn't do that differently. NaNoWriMo just wrapped up and it was a great November. I wrote 60,000 words (my highest single month word production) and reached 50K five days earlier than ever before. Year twelve of doing NaNo was fantastic! The story isn't done yet, I'm still writing. Though, not at the manic November pace. I do try to get 500 words a day or so to keep working toward the end. 

I hope you had a great 2017 or at least a year to learn from if it didn't go so great. I suppose, with the new year approaching it's time to start pondering what my one word will be for 2018. 

IWSG: November

It's the first day of NaNoWriMo and I will fully admit I'm off writing somewhere, probably in my comfy chair under a blanket in my pajamas. But I did like this month's question and it's a topic near and dear to me so I'm going to chime in.

Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I've only not won once, but I'd say it's about half and half on finishing. It took me years to get back to finishing my early NaNo novels, and some of those will never see the light of day. Was that a waste of time? Certainly not. Everything I write is a learning experience, sometimes it's to learn to never do that again.

More recently, I've been better about staying on the novel after November and finishing it without years of gathering dust. A good example is The Last God, which was last year's novel and is now published.

2006 - Sahmara  was published in 2016

2007 - Swan Queen is still waiting to be finished

2008 - Not Another Bards Tale is also waiting to be finished and is likely the next on my list.

2009 - A Broken Race was published in 2015

2010 - 50K worth of short stories, one of which did go on to be published
2011 - The Narvan Book 2: Chain of Grey - Is contracted for publication
2012 - Jackson - A horrible idea, but some of the content ended up in the epilogue of ABR.
2013 - Into the Blue - I'd like to finish this someday
2014 - Damaged - I was building a house so this isn't even close to done and may never be
2015 - The Narvan book 3: Bound in Blue - Is contracted for publication
2016 - The Last God, is published

I like to claim NaNoWriMo as my dedicated writing month. I get that rough draft out and can spend the rest of the year making it pretty and work and all that fun stuff. Sometimes my brain and life don't cooperate and I end up with one of those half finished lingering projects.

Good luck with NaNo this year for all those participating!

All About NaNoWriMo

I'm at about neck deep into NaNoWriMo already and November hasn't even started. I'm anticipating spending my November at about 6 inches under my obligation load so figure on a total breakdown where I vanish for a few days somewhere in December.

This week's adventures in NaNoWriMo included a trip to Grand Rapids where my Co-ML and I went on the WGVU Morning Show to talk about...you guessed it, NaNoWrimo! I'd never been on the radio before so that was an interesting experience. I was on enough allergy meds that I was just awake enough to be coherent but not alert enough to be nervous. I guess there is a plus to allergies after all.

Today I officially secured my Day Of Knockout Noveling location, which is a theater, which is pretty damn cool, if I do say so myself. I'm still a bit bummed about not using the gallery space we've used for the past couple years, but I don't have to haul hardly anything to the new venue. My back, shoulder, and neck are extremely pleased with this news. The manager is super easy to work with and I'm excited to have the whole theater filled with the clickity-clacking of fifty-some keyboards while we novel away for a day.

I also made all the activities, stickers and progress chart for the 50 goody bags we'll be handing out at our Kick Off Party on the 29th and got those all assembled into neat little bags this week as well.

In preparation for a month of writing, I wrapped up my personal Netflix binge-watching yesterday. I've been on a historical fiction stint with Medici: Masters of Florence, which was very good. Can't wait for the next season! And the three seasons of The Borgias , which was a fun example of a whole show of antagonists and getting people to empathize with them...and yet still know they are not good people. I'm still working my way through the last season of Dark Matter and the current seasons of Mr. Robot and Outlander, but those are on husband/wife time so I can still work those in during November here and there.

Next on the list: Re-reading Book 3 of the Narvan so I can dive into Book 4 for NaNo.

And while I have you here and we're talking about NaNoWriMo, both Sahmara and The Last God (which were both NaNo Novels) are currently on sale for .99. Links are over there on the left. <------ p="">

It's NaNo Prep Time

Sorry for the blog silence over the past month. Life has been insanely busy and allergy season is upon
me, meaning my morning writing/blogging/marketing/all things bookish time has been minimal to none.

Not that I've had to let everything go, but I've had to prioritize what I can do in the time I have. Most of that time has been devoted to participating in and mentoring the Coursea NaNo Prep courses. If you participate in NaNoWriMo, you will have received the email about these courses a while ago. They are ongoing and run through February. There's still time to join any of the five courses. Auditing (watching the lectures) is free. Participating in the assignments (both submitting and critiquing) does require a fee. Both options are helpful.

I did the assignments in the first course and came out with what I'm hoping is a sellable short general fiction story. Now I just need to find time to hunt down a couple markets and submit it. I also wrote a few pieces that I can work into my upcoming NaNo novel. So there has been productivity, just not as much as I would like. I've also critiqued a lot of assignments and answered lots of questions. Mostly the same questions by different people, which is a bit wearing on my patience level.

If you're wondering what all this talk of NaNoWriMo is about, do take a moment to check it out. This will be my 12th year participating. Amazing to think I've been doing this for that long. Twelve years of writing 50,000 words in a 30 days. Just one month out of the year. Thankfully. I couldn't keep up that frantic pace year round, not with everything else I do. But for one month, I allow myself to let other things go. For one month my existence is distilled to eat, sleep, write, work and the activities involved with NaNo writing, such as moderating my regional forum, hosting weekly write-ins, and three large events. I'm taking November off from author events, though there are a few I wish I could get to, but there just isn't enough of me to go around. Blogging will likely be fairly quiet too.

What will I be writing this year? Book 4 of The Narvan. The first three books are under contract. This one is begging to be written. It's a good thing I'm busy, because the writing urge is getting downright demanding and that will only get worse throughout October as I continue to ponder scenes and plot so my fingers can get down to business on November 1.

So that's where I'm at. Not abducted by aliens, but considering what to write about them. Along with gearing up for three author events in the next couple weeks, wrapping up taking the NaNo prep courses, playing mom taxi to two busy high school girls, and generally doing the business owner and family thing. Not busy at all. Ha!

IWSG: September Surprises

It's been a busy month. So busy, that I haven't posted here in a while. What's been going on?

Our exchange student from Denmark arrived mid-way through the month. We've been having a great time showing her around town and getting her ready for school. The school here is MUCH bigger than what she's used to, but she did well on her first day. It's only going to get busier from here now that we have two high school students to play taxi and supportive parent for.

I volunteered to serve as a mentor for a Wesleyan University online course on NaNoWriMo preparation. Which means I've been busy answering questions and reviewing assignments for participants in the class. Oh, and taking the class myself. Because I have a ton of free time... (or I'm just a bit crazy).

As an ML for NaNo, these next two months are planning for regional activities time. The fact that this is year nine as ML makes this not near so daunting. We generally have this down. Except the venue I use for my giant mid-month write-in may not be an option this year because they're moving. Add that to my list of things to do along with waiting to meet the ML's I'll be mentoring in the next couple weeks. Here's hoping they don't need a lot of my time and attention or that I don't need sleep.

So anywho, nothing going on here, just lounging around. So hey, why don't we take a few moments for this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group post. 


Question: Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing? (For example, by trying a new genre you didn't think you'd be comfortable in?)

Yes, definitely. If you've ever done NaNo and read your efforts months or year later, you'll find some portions of the chaos that amaze you. Did I write that? I don't distinctly remember writing that, but holy crap, it's pretty damn good! Even better is when you edit and revise a project and set it aside for a while then go back and read it. I'm often surprised how much I enjoy reading those stories even though I know what happens.  

I've pushed myself to write in third, to write multiple points of view, to do dueling points of view, to write dystopian, fantasy, and more romance scenes than I would have been comfortable with years ago. Beyond my usual novels, I've written short stories and short novels. 

Keep trying new things. They may not work out. I have a whole folder of things that didn't work out. But, I also have multiple folders of projects that did work. You never know what your capable of until you give it a shot. Who knows, you might just surprise yourself.

IWSG December and NaNo Blog Hop

Welcome fellow NaNoWriMo participants. It was a tough year for many of us, but we made it though November - hopefully with a pile of words that we're still adding to or starting to edit. I'm still adding and have a long way to go. I'm also editing, because I had multiple projects. High fives to all you NaNo rebels out there.

Having done NaNo for eleven years, and 'won' ten of those, I like to keep things interesting each November. I know (as long as I'm not building a house) that I can pound out 50K in thirty days or less. That means I need to further challenge myself. Sometimes that means writing a different genre, changing up my usual method of POV, experimenting with plot or structure, or just going outside the box with short stories or a combo of any of the above. If you've done NaNo for a few years, what do you do to keep yourself challenged? 


And we're back to the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post.

This month's question: In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

I would like to have at least five more books out there, some self-published and some with my current publisher. I'd like to aim for one a year to keep some forward momentum. Currently, the first three books of The Narvan series are under contract, so there's three of my five taken care of - barring any unforeseen publishing issues. Which means, I have two other novels out of the pile of languishing WIPs on my computer to finish, edit, polish and publish. Oh, the choices!

As to why I'd like to continue the self-published/published route, I like not having all my projects tied up in one place. I like the freedom to market in both directions - my efforts and theirs. A good deal of my writing doesn't fit in simple genre categories either, which makes self-publishing a good option for those odd projects.

My plan to get there? Well, that involves spending my mornings in this chair, a lot of typing, probably a large amount of chocolate consumption and hours of frowning at what I've written along with a lot of hours of editing and rewriting. But I'll get there.

November in the blink of an eye

I woke up this morning and took a long shower to wash the NaNo off. Wow, I got lost in November, and boom, its suddenly December!

We held an early TGIO party for our region so my NaNo obligations are over a week earlier than ever before. It feels really weird, but it's a good kind of weird. I'm not as burnt out as usual, so that early party thing? We're definitely doing that again. Though, hopefully without pulling a muscle in my back next time, because that was NOT good. Thankfully, it's nearly recovered now after a week of taking it easy.

NaNoWriMo 2016 yielded one short that's already out in submission, a proposed epilogue and prologue for A Broken Race that readers have ben asking for, a little progress on Interface - which was supposed to be my main project, and a third of the first draft for The Last God, a sci-fi novel that I've been toying with in my head for the past six months or so. All those words got my to my tenth 50K 'win'.

I also read five books because I managed to catch a nasty cold and was good for nothing than blowing my nose and coughing up lungs...and curling up under a blanket with a book (or five). All were by Sherrilyn Kenyon, each in a day, because they're quick, easy reads for my tired brain. I also watched the entire second season of Dark Matter - a must watch for sci-fi fans if you haven't already, and Glitch - an Australian paranormal series that may live to see a second season. If you liked Resurrection, give it a try.

December is looking like editing and revision as well as catching up on all my blog visits month.

NaNoWriMo 2016 Progress

I set out this month with every intention of buckling down and finishing the initial draft of Interface. I'd spent well over a month going over what I had so far from last year's effort when my attention went awry. I'd made notes. I was all set to go. Aaaand about 5k in I decided to take a morning to write a short story for a submission window that closes at the end of the month. That poured out pretty quickly and was done by the end of the day. Then it was back to Interface. For a whole day. Oh look another sparkly short story idea to play with. A couple days later, I wrapped that up. Ok, ok, back to Interface. But then there was this sci-fi story idea I've been kicking around for a few months. Somehow a new document opened and words started to pour out. It was the weirdest thing, I swear. This story is racing right along so I'm going to run with it and see where it goes and how long it takes to get there. Not sure if this is more of a novella or a full novel yet. We'll have to wait and see. Yes, Interface is still open in my document list. It's cursor is blinking angrily at me. I haven't told my daughter yet that I've veered off from finishing the novel she wants me to be working on. Shhhh. It's NaNo. I go where the words are flowing. While I'm busy writing, it's also a busy month for interviews. Here's one I did with Motown Writers.

NaNo Eve

On the eve of NaNoWriMo, known as Halloween to some, it seems quite appropriate that on Authors Answer, we share the best writing advice we've received. And that sentence really felt like it should rhyme, but it's early and my brain isn't up for that task just yet. All of this advice seems to directly relate to the challenges of NaNo, so if you're participating, do take a look and be fortified for the task set before you.

Still on the fence about writing a novel in a month? If you haven't given it a try, why not this year? Writing starts tomorrow. There's plenty of time to sign up. 50,000 words in 30 days. It's totally doable. NaNoWriMo, go on, try it.

I'm looking forward to diving headfirst into of writing a pile of new words. It's my writing guilt-free month. People know I'm writing and I'll be in and out in the coming weeks, rushing dinners before write-ins and sitting there distracted while I'm plotting the next scene in my head.

And today is my last day of planning, so I guess I better get back to doing that. Tomorrow, I write.

On Being Thankful

If I were looking to jinx myself, I would do a post I've been contemplating for a while about being thankful. But I wouldn't do that, because I know how the universe works.

I wouldn't want to dwell on the fact that I'm vastly enjoying life in my new house with plenty of room for everyone. Or that my writing room has in fact remained a writing space, free of clutter, or other encroaching household items seeking storage space.

If I were foolish, I would curse myself by talking about how comfortable and inviting my writing chair is, or my new warm, furry lap blanket, or the horde of chocolate I have stashed away for NaNo writing sessions. I surely wouldn't want to mention that I suddenly have more story ideas than I will have time for this November.

Speaking of work going well enough to support two people, or at least well enough to pay the bills, would surely prod the powers that be to bring about some costly misfortune that would sideline my intention to be credit card debit free (creative financing for unexpected projects when we built our house two years ago) by spring of next year. 

I wouldn't want to invite an onslaught of poor reviews by saying that Sahmara has been well received or talk about the nice comments on the cover art from people at the author fair I attended last week.

No, doing any of these things would be just asking for trouble, and I certainly don't need that. So, instead, I'll just leave the whole topic of being generally healthy and happy with where I am in life out of this post and get back to planning my NaNo project, because, thankful or not, I can't seem to focus on that no matter how hard I try.

Back to Writing

With Sahmara released out into the world, I've been busy prepping for November and NaNoWriMo. That means brushing up on my annual Municipal Liaison list of things to do. This being my eighth year as an ML I rather have a system down so preparing everything for my region isn't near as stressful as it used to be.

Setting up the big events, getting the regional forum seeded with posts, starting to fill the calendar with scheduled events, it's all happening. I've got sixty goody bags ready to go, activities planned for the Kick off Party and our big mid-month write-in. Auction items are set aside and prizes are bagged and awaiting the fun to begin.

Now I have time to do some prep work on the novel I hope to finish this November. For the third year, though not consecutively, I will be working on Interface, a YA science fiction novel. Interface began as a short story in 2010 when I did 50K worth of short stories, which was an interesting exercise that resulted in a couple stories I was able to polish and publish and several others that haven't been touched in six years. Last year, I hauled Interface out and got it rolling as a novel. I dove into NaNo intending to finish it. Aaaaand then the niggling idea to write the third book of the Narvan hit me hard and I ended up writing that from beginning to end instead. So this year, darn it. I'm finishing Interface. Three NaNo years. It's time. So that means I'm reformatting my scattered efforts to a unified and non-distracting layout, taking notes and jotting down ideas for the path to resolution. With just over a month to go, I better quit with the distractions (like writing blog posts) and get on with the planning.

Holidays and Resolutions

With the holidays in reach, I'm enjoying a couple quiet days in my chair with my laptop. Presents are wrapped and waiting, cookies baked, house cleaned, groceries purchased, yep, I'm ready to go. And so I'm relaxing.

Because that's my one word for 2016: Relax

I don't even recall what my one word resolution was for 2015. It should have been: Survive. Because I'm insane, I chose: Write. (because 2014 failed at that word) This was a ludicrous idea considering I was still building the damn house and then there was the moving and finishing and unpacking. Ugh. If I could twist that word into: Publish, then I will say that I succeeded. Though, I did write too, but not until November. Hey, the last two months totally count for the full year, right? Sure they do.

This year I hope to spend more time in this chair writing with my feet up - not being stressed out, and exhausted. I'm sure there will still be stress, my oldest plans to be heading off to college, the younger is a teenage girl. Enough said.

Does it look and feel like Christmas by you? We're having the best winter weather ever. I'm on the lakeshore in West Michigan and should be under a couple of feet of snow by now, trudging about in my winter boots and weighed down by thick winter coat, gloves, scarves and a hat, brushing off my car at every errand stop while freezing my butt off. Instead, I wore my sandals last week and drove with my window down. Okay, this is Michigan, and it was 50 degrees and sunny, That's sandal weather. Sure, it's been rainy, but I don't have to shovel rain or pay the plow guy to do the driveway. This is awesome compared the to the last couple years of winter hell. And it totally figures that we'd have a warmer winter when I'm not frantically trying to finish a building a house during snowstorms or moving in the middle of record cold temperatures. Because that's how things work.

But I'm relaxing so it's all good.

Fun link for the week:
Our final thoughts on NaNoWriMo 2015 are now live on Lectito. In which I learn two of the other participants planned way the hell more than I did, but we all still made it to 50K.

My New Chair

As a reward for finally getting back into the groove of writing and completing NaNoWriMo in record time (for me), I bought myself the chair I've been waiting for. There's been a hole in my office, awaiting it's arrival.

The issue was that I couldn't decide which chair was right for me and for writing productively, you know, meaning I wouldn't be so comfortable that I'd fall asleep. Because I do that. Yet, it had to be good for my back and shoulders, because those bother the hell out of me in my current desk chair. So after dragging my daughter around the furniture store for about an hour, sitting here and there, on black friday, no less (because: sales), I finally decided on this one.

The deciding factor? Funny thing was I'd all but paid for a totally different chair that was $150 less, but then my sister called. She was having a personal crisis, so I sat in the most expensive of the chairs I'd been contemplating, and we talked. The salesman kept not-so-discretely wandering by, giving me the 'are you done yet' eye. By the end of the conversation, my back demanded that chair. It's backrest was so tall that even I, who often towers over others, could rest my head on the chair. The arms were wide enough to comfortably allow for typing. The detached leg rest was perfect for my bad legs and still allowed me to get up without doing the awkward dismount from a standard recliner.

The only one who isn't wild about my chair? My little dog. Because she's not allowed on it. Bummer. Sorry, there's not room for a dog and a laptop. But I did buy her a new little bed so she can curl up next to my writing throne.

Speaking if which, it's time to get back to get comfortable and do some of that writing stuff.

Wonder where writers congregate online? Check out Author's Answer. 

Published: Kick The Cat

Now that NaNo is all wrapped up and so are a few Christmas presents, I'm enjoying some writing time at a less harried pace from the comfort of my new writing chair. I'll share more about that next time.

Today, I'm happy to announce that the fall issue of the 3288 Review is now available, which features my short story, Kick The Cat.

You may remember that Kick the Cat was written during A Story A Day In May. I'm looking forward to a creating a host of new short stories next spring and will again be accepting ideas and prompts in April during Blogging A to Z.

Kick The Cat is a quirky little story about a sexy sorceress, her boyfriend, and the cat who hates his guts. I hope you enjoy it.