New Cover Art!

Now that I've been home several days, I can report things are moving along for the re-release of my Magic Wakes series. We've got new cover art for the first three books! Take a look and tell me what you think. These were all designed by Tamara Hart Heiner who is also an amazing author.

I'll be re-releasing the first two in the series sometime the first week of November. Demon Rising is about halfway finished, but this amazing cover has inspired me to get writing again. My goal is to have it out by fall of 2018.

It feels so good to be excited about writing again!

IWSG--The Passionate Disturbance of a Writer's Mind

I don't really have any insecurities to discuss today. Instead, I'd like to share some of the common ailments writers often face.

Sure, we often suffer from eye fatigue from staring at our computer screens, lower back pain or neck pain from slumping in chairs, weight gain, etc. However, what I want to talk about today is the crying over characters syndrome.

Seriously, it's great when my friends support me and talk about how dedicated I am to chasing my dream in spite of the every day things that fill up my time. They think they understand, but I know (and many of you know) they have no clue.

Case in point--one Friday morning I woke up as normal as ever. My brain was functioning along the proper lines:

• wake kids
• shower
• eat
• get kids off to school
• head for work

The drive to work is where the author brain decided to highjack me. A certain song came on the radio. It's an old favorite that has come to represent a very important scene in Talia's story. If you think of each novel as having a story arc, then spread that same format across a series, then book 3 is the dark moment in my 4 book series. This particular song is the darkest of dark moments toward the end of the book.

I'm singing along, envisioning these two characters (that I love more than I could ever explain to people who don't have imaginary friends) in this scene. The words of the song are their dialogue back and forth. Before I knew what hit me, I was sobbing so hard I thought I was going to have to pull over and take a break before continuing to work. 

How do you walk into your job with red rimmed eyes and explain that everything is fine, but your characters are having a really bad day?

What's the most disturbing aspect of your writing mind?

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!  Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

September 6 Question: Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing? For example, trying a new genre you didn't think you'd be comfortable in?

YES! I'm surprised anything I write ever makes sense. Recently, I tried a new genre and really enjoyed it. What's more--my husband actually enjoys it too. He never said so many complimentary things about my science fiction (it's just not his thing), but even though he makes fun of my Hallmark movie watching, he has said tons of lovely things about my romance story. Weird!

IWSG July--Handcarts, Retreats, and Releases

What a crazy month June was! There were so many things happening that I could barely keep up. It was wonderful in way. I was too busy to let my insecurities really kick in. In fact, I think I found new courage in all my running around. So, today I'm rolling with it and just reporting on last month and setting some new goals for July. Having accountability is good for me. 

Report Goals for June:

• Survive a pioneer re-enactment with youth from church next week (I put the best pictures in a slide show. I'm the fat one in the yellow dress, lol. I did pretty good hiding from the camera.)
• 
  
• Finish the draft of Talia's third book (working title: Demon Rising) while attending a writer's retreat--I did continue writing on this, but did not finish yet.
• Continue writing Eleena's story--Added 15K to this story at the writers retreat.

I also got a surprise last month. Book 2 in the MAGIC WAKES has a cover and a release date! You can read about it HERE. 

I'm also running two giveaways on Goodreads. 

THE MAGIC WAKES--2 copies, July 4th--July 12th

DAWN OF THE MAGES--2 copies, July 4th--September 15th

However, you can be entered into a smaller pool of entrants by signing up for my newsletter.

Click HERE.

Goals for July

• Continue working on Demon Rising--it needs to move to priority.

Goals for the rest of 2016:

• Finish both drafts--Demon Rising and Eleena's story (working title: Empire Rebooted)
• Begin revisions on Demon Rising this fall and submit to my publisher

This month's IWSG question: What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I'd have to say the note I got on Facebook a few months ago. A sweet woman I knew years ago in North Carolina sent me a private message to tell me that her 12 year old daughter found my book on the shelf and read it. 3 times in a week! 

So the mom did what all good moms do. She contacted me to see if I had any other books. A week after I mailed them I got another note telling me that I was her daughters new favorite author! That was a first for me and I'll admit I teared up at that. I'd never even dreamed that was a possibility.

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!  Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

Dawn of the Mages Cover Reveal!

I'm so excited to share my new cover with you! Everything is a go as of today. I didn't plan any big launch, but I had to share with you guys right away.

DAWN OF THE MAGES

...is now on Goodreads! Go add it to your TBR pile! I'll be giving away free copies of book 1 in the series the week of my release date.

Print copies will be available mid-July and ebooks the beginning of September! This is a huge jump in timeline for me. They were originally slated for late September and October, so I'm super happy!

Blurb:

The Dragumon have been defeated, but the planet Sendek will never be the same.

In order to save their world, Talia and Landry Sutton had to wake the forgotten magic on Sendek. But instead of restoring peace, it creates chaos on the city streets, with those unable to work magic turning against those who can.

When Talia and Landry travel to the planet Orek to discover how it combines magic and science, they find a new, anti-magical government. The Controllers have all the tech, weapons, and natural resources. On Orek, the magical outcasts beg Talia and Landry to help them rise up against their oppressors.

The two must decide whether to help save Orek or return home and save their own planet. Talia and Landry are torn apart by the conflicting missions. Talia knows what Landry wants, but if she gives in, she could lose what she loves the most.

June IWSG--Tip-toe With the Muse

Most of the Greek Muses have to do with music, dance, history, and various types of poetry. Since I write science fiction, I'll claim Urania as my Muse.

After months of not feeling inspired to write, I feel like I'm back! I owe it all to my wonderful writer's group. Several weeks ago I gave in and took my new first chapter. I'd been playing around with a story they'd already heard the start of. For some reason, I didn't feel I could keep writing the story until I really nailed that first chapter. Usually I write and then come back and rewrite that chapter 100 times. Maybe this means I'm finally growing as a writer?

Anyway, I had taken their comments from almost 5 months earlier and wrote a new first chapter for the story. I'll be honest and say my confidence was basement level when I started reading out loud. Would they like it? Did I finally find my character's voice? Was this enough to pull readers in?

When I finished there was silence. Then it went sort of like this.

Me: Well?
Tamara: That was amazing. This is a story I want more of.

That's all it took to have my Muse slinking up beside me ready to work. I value Tamara's opinion. She's never reacted so strongly or positively to any of my work before now. It gave me hope. Ever since then, I've been working on the story whenever I can. It's not a lot of time yet, but bits here and there are adding up. I'm in love with my characters. I hurt for their struggles. I'm allowing myself to write the story without boxing myself in. When it's all said and done, I hope readers will feel this story the way I have. Hope, fear, anger, and forgiveness. All set on a galactic scale!

I guess my words of encouragement for this month would be this. No matter how long your writing has been "off," don't give up. Keep trying. Keep putting yourself out there and one day something will light that spark again. It's so worth the wait!

Goals for June:

• Survive a pioneer re-enactment with youth from church next week (There will be pictures!)
• Finish the draft of Talia's third book (working title: Demon Rising) while attending a writer's retreat
• Continue writing Eleena's story mentioned in the pos

Goals for the rest of 2016:

• Finish both drafts--Demon Rising and Eleena's story (working title: Empire Rebooted)
• Begin revisions on Demon Rising this fall and submit to my publisher

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!  Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

IWSG March "Is It Too Late?"

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!  Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the March 2 posting of the IWSG will be Lauren Hennessy, Lisa Buie-Collard, Lidy, Christine Rains, and Mary Aalgaard!

Where to start? I'm emotionally worn out from worrying over one of my kids, but holding on to hope that things will get better soon. In the meantime, I'm pressing forward when I can.

After six long months, I finished working with my editor on Monday. We've come a long way. I'm proud of the improvements we've made to Talia's second novel. The story is stronger. The series as a whole is firmly back on track with my plan, and I'm happy.

My insecurity this month are two fold now that a release date is closer (still TBD).

1. Has it been too long since the first book in the series was released? What if the people who found, read, and enjoyed the first book have forgotten about it? By now they probably don't care what happened to Talia and Landry after the Dragumon were destroyed.  How will I reach them again?

2. This book is different than the first one. I think the writing is stronger, but the story moves slower. Granted, THE MAGIC WAKES was a break-neck speed that didn't leave a lot of room to catch your breath. Will the slower pace turn readers off? Will it feel like a "sophmore" novel, or will people appreciate my efforts to deepen my character development?

There's no way to know any of those things until the book is available. And I hate waiting. *sigh*

We've also changed the title. The book formally known as Search For Knowledge will now be THE MAGES DAWN, or THE MAGES' DAWN. Not sure about the possessive or not. I'm going to leave that in better hands than mine. :)

Okay, my nerves and insecurities will continue to nag me until release day. I'm ready. Maybe.
In the meantime, let me leave you with a song that has a lot in common with this installment of Talia's story.

Happy Birthday THE MAGIC WAKES!

I didn't realize it until I logged into Facebook and saw all these "memories" posts about my book on there. It's been 3 years since THE MAGIC WAKES was released by WiDo Publishing.

Blurb:

Since childhood, scientist Talia Zaryn has been haunted by recurring dreams, visions of an alien attack on her planet Sendek. Each time it ends abruptly with Talia’s death in the capital city Joharadin, a city that she has spent her life desperately avoiding. Talia keeps these dreams a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when she is unexpectedly transferred to Joharadin she is convinced that the conflict, and her own death, is at hand.

As Talia’s nightmares occur with increasing frequency, they reveal the imminent invasion of a half-dragon, half-human race called Dragumon, bent on the annihilation of her world.

In Sendek, magic is dead and science rules, forcing Talia to keep another secret, one that could cost her everything if it were known. Now, in order to save her planet, Talia must awaken the powers within her and rely at last on the magic that is her true inheritance.

_______

I wish I had the sequel's cover to reveal today, however we'll have to wait on that. Instead, here's the book trailer from my first novel and an updated blurb for book two. Feel free to comment on the changes and ask more questions. It helps so much!



New Blurb for book two--

The Dragumon have been defeated, but the planet Sendek will never be the same.

Talia and Landry Sutton brought the mages together to unbind the human-dragon hybrid bent on destroying their world.  Instead of restoring peace, the discovery of magic created chaos in the city streets. Lines are being drawn between those who can work magic and those who can’t. The Suttons have a plan—create a Mage Council to govern the use of magic. They hope it will be enough to reconcile the factions long enough to travel to Orek and learn how that world successfully combined magic and science.

Landry struggles with the memories passed to him from a dead wizard. Talia on the other hand hasn’t dreamed for months, but on the eve of leaving for Orek her nightmares return. She knows they must go. However, if they do, she could lose what matters most—Landry.

Novel Help Needed

In spite of the emotionally draining family problems I'm dealing with, I've managed to finish edits with my publisher. My editor has asked me to do one final read through since the last accepting of changes.

Have you ever been so sick of reading your own book that you're afraid you'll miss everything that's wrong with it?

Yeah, I'm there. Anyway, maybe one more read through will help me with my last two tasks.
1. Back jacket blurb
2. A new title

Ug! I hate coming up with titles. Hate, hate, hate it! However, it must be done. I need to find something that will catch readers attention, reflect something about the book or series as a whole, and match the first title if possible. Or at least fit in with it.

Today, I'd like your help with task #1. I'll post what I sent to my editor. She'd like me to make this a little longer. Yeah, I've NEVER heard that before. I'm sort of in shock. Normally I rattle on forever, kind of like now...

Anyway, please share your thoughts. The good, the bad, and the ugly. What do you like? What's confusing? What do you want to know more about?

Working Title: Search for Knowledge
Genre: Science Fantasy
Word Count: 77K

The Dragumon have been defeated, but Sendek will never be the same. Lines are being drawn between those who can work magic and those who can’t. Talia and Landry Sutton have a plan, create a Mage Council to govern the use of magic. They hope it will keep the peace long enough for them to travel to Orek and learn how Jaron’s world successfully combined magic and science.

Talia hasn’t dreamed for months, but on the eve of leaving for Orek her nightmares return. She knows they must go. However, if they do, she could lose what matters most—Landry.

****

And finally, here are some of my ideas for possible new titles. Thoughts? Do any jump out at you? Why?

There are four planned books in this series:
Book 1--The Magic Wakes (Wido Publishing, 2013)
Book 2--formerly Search for Knowledge needs new title
Book 3--Planned name--Demon Rising
Book 4--Planned name--Dragon's Birth

Options for book 2
Mage Deliverance--reflects more on the situation on Orek than Sendek (the two planets in book 2) and might be a bit of a stretch
Magic Restrained--probably my favorite
Secrets of the Mountain
Inciting the Mage
Illusions of Peace
The Dragon's Oracle (growing on me)

February 2016 IWSG The Crazy Coaster

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.


By the end of January I felt really good about myself, my family life, and my writing. I only accepted two substitute jobs and focused on getting back into a good mental place myself. There were still struggles (as there always will be) with my teenagers. It made for a long month of ups and downs.

However, I buckled down and finished the first round of line edits for SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE. It was brutal! I basically sent a rough draft quality manuscript to my editor and we had to kill lots of repetitious words--felt, something, looked, was, went, got, know, only, just, and a couple others.

My insecurities had diminished and life looked good.

Then bad news hit us.
Jan 28th--the woman who planned to buy our house (and has been renting it since November) learned her ex-husband had destroyed her credit since the divorce in October. There's no way she's getting a loan to close in February.

Hubby and I spent hours talking about our options. We had given her a cut on rent because she was going to buy the house. That meant her rent didn't cover our mortgage, much less the management fees and any repairs she requested. Which she had done a lot of! We wanted to be fair and kind to her, but we needed to take care of our family too. The best plan was to ask her to pay the full rent so we were no longer paying for her to live there. If she agreed to that, we wouldn't re-list the house for sale giving her time to raise her credit and buy the house.

Jan 29th--she refuses to pay the higher rent and will move out at the end of February. Now I'm terrified she'll do something to the house in the next month. I know that's stupid, but my imagination tells me she's angry with us and thinks we are cruel for kicking her out. However, she doesn't know us. She doesn't know that while she was living in my beautiful, fully loaded home, I was living without a complete kitchen or floors in half my house. Now that she can't buy, I will have to pay two mortgages again, and the chance of completing our renovations are pushed back again.

January 30th and 31st--I didn't want to get out of bed, but by the end of the weekend I had resigned myself to substitute teaching every day and destroying the hard earned peace of mind I'd gained in January. Sort of. Not really, but I'm trying! I also got notes back from my editor to go through one more round of edits.

My biggest fear is that I'll never finish these edits. The second book will never be released and even if it is, I'll never finish writing the 3rd and 4th books in the series. Life if trying its hardest to keep me away from my dreams. I seriously want to hide in bed all day rather than fail or get knocked down again.

Good thing I re-watched GALAXY QUEST recently.

So, I subbed yesterday and I'm subbing today. Tomorrow I'll do my rounds to visit you and edit more on SFK. Hopefully this will be the last set of edits before moving on to getting cover art and a release date. I'll keep you posted!

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented last month. Your good thoughts and support have really helped me keep moving forward. I'm continuing to take the steps necessary to enjoy my life and keep writing. I just wish it was easier! :)

A New Week of Edits and Book Trailers!

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and advice last week for IWSG. I enjoyed reading them as I went about the business of the week. It was busy and I didn't get to visit as many blogs as I'd hoped. There were doctor and dentist visits and this...

Elaine's Cake 

Reception set up.

It's the first wedding cake I've done in years. I believe I missed the stressful excitement of helping make someone's special day even more wonderful. However, I'm glad it's over!

This week I dig back into the third round of edits for Talia's next story installment--Search For Knowledge. Things are going well and we are down to the nitty gritty clean up. Hopefully, I'll have an idea when it might be released soon. Right now I just know 2016, this year! Yay!

I keep trying different background music for the book trailer. What do you think of this one?

My next post will be the blurb. I need help!
Hope you all have a great week, catch you later!

Beautiful Weather to Inspire!

We have had a wonderful break from the heat this last week. The kind of break that lets you open all the windows because it's cooler outside than in. Even though it's strange August weather, I'll take it!

Last week I barely touched my computer, and that was fine. Hubby and I got a lot done. Not as much as we hoped, but enough that I'm okay taking things a lot slower from here on out. We still have to sell our other house before we can get the rest of the kitchen finished. That could take a while. Even though most of the house still looks like this...

No floors and stuff piled along the sides.

We have one room that is finished "enough" to enjoy and be our sanctuary from the rest of the crazy.

And finally, as soon as I hit publish on this post, I'm going to write! From here on out, I'll get back on a regular schedule of exercise, house cleaning and writing time. I'm so ready! Even though there are still boxes piled up in the sunroom, this is where I'll sit and write today. The weather is a comfortable 72 degrees and the sounds of insect life buzzing is quite pleasant.

In other news:

• I've sent a note to my editor and am just waiting to get started on SFK edits. As soon as I know a timeframe for the release I'll let you know. 
• Now that I'm moved, I'll start advertising the Bold New Worlds contest more. I've sort of neglected it this month. :(

What are your goals for this week?

Kitchens and Sequels

I went without internet for a few days after last weekend's move. Thank goodness I had pre-scheduled the Adam Lambert post! Anyway. Every day has been filled with work. And driving my hubby's truck. Randomness right here! I'm so glad he finally bought a truck. A big truck. Why? Because I really like driving it. :)

Okay, back to the remodel goals for this week...

Getting ready to start laying tile. This is the one thing we're paying someone else to do--so far.

He laid about half of the 900+ square foot room today!

While floors were going in, hubby and I decided to try putting up our own wall cabinets because, why not?

Don't worry, the base cabinets won't be off center when installed. That's for those of you with OCD like me. I just like torturing you with the photo. :)

Most of the other work we need to do seems small compared to getting the floors and the kitchen put in. But there's tons of it left to do. Right now I'm just praying our other house sells, like THIS week. Until that happens, we won't have our kitchen island, the rest of the appliances, countertops, backsplash or floors in this area of the house.

I feel like I should sit and watch The Money Pit. I think it would make me feel better. Maybe. This house is old and that means we have had a few surprises. Such as the fact that we couldn't move our pantry from it's horizontal position to vertical because it was only half an inch shorter than the 8 foot ceiling. I really miss my 10 foot ceilings! We gouged a few new holes into our scraped and patched ceiling. In the end we cut off almost 4 inches from the base before we could scrape by. Of course once it was upright there was plenty of room to spare.

And, after four months of begging multiple electricians for a quote on the work needed at this house, I finally got one yesterday. It's in the $8500 ballpark. *sigh* We have three fuse boxes, none of which are up to code. They are about $1200 a piece to replace. Then there's the cosmetic stuff we'd like to do. It'll have to be done bit by bit.

The good news is even in this state of chaos, this feels like home. That's a good thing when it's all said and done.

Okay, now for some great news!

It's official (actually it was official last Friday), WiDo Publishing has picked up Talia's sequel. All the paperwork is signed and they've announced it on their website. You can read the interview HERE.

Thankfully, we'll finish stage one of renovations by the time I need to start working with an editor. I'm excited for that. It's possibly one of my favorite parts of being an author. That's when you get to take something good and make it shine. It will also put me firmly in Talia's world so I can get back to drafting book three in the series. I REALLY want to get the first crummy version on "paper" by the end of the year. With hard work, and some luck, I can get that one out in a year instead of two. That's my goal anyway.

What's everyone else up to this week?

Birth of a Novel Week 5

Week 5

• Every Friday post a quick update on how you're doing on your writing projects. 
• It can be combined with Camp Nano or whatever personal goals you've set. 
• All you need is a line or two added to the beginning or end of whatever post you already had planned for the day.
• Then visit the others in the list to encourage them to keep moving forward. 

Help spread the word so we have more folks to visit.

This has been a hard week. I have not been in a good mood. At all. Usually I try and present the positive aspects of my life online. I mean, who wants to read a downer post? However, there just isn't much positive to say today. 

Writing was nonexistent this week. I wanted to write, but it just never happened. Instead I've spent sleepless nights and wasted days. I can't even say I accomplished much in my personal life outside of writing either. It's been a long, bleak and lonely kind of week. And I don't really know why. 

Sorry, that's what it's like to be a girl. You can be sad for absolutely no reason. It isn't something we choose, but there it is. This was a week where I felt fat, old, uninspired and uninspiring. Like a failure at everything. 

Don't worry, I know that isn't true, but it doesn't stop me from feeling that way sometimes. 

Grasping at straws, I can say one positive thing happened this week. I sent my revised manuscript to my publisher. So, I'm not a complete failure, yet. 

I hope your week went better than mine. Please tell me about it. I could use some happy news.

Week 5 Stats:

Demon Rising--8273 (up 584 words)

Eleena's Tale--6616 

Week 4 Stats:

Demon Rising--7689 (down 16 words)

Eleena's Tale--6616 (up 878 words)

2 Complete walk throughs of SFK from critique partners

Week 1 Stats:
Demon Rising--5475 words
Eleena's Tale--2119 words

Week 2 Stats:
Demon Rising--6718 (1243 word increase)
Eleena's Tale--4823 (2704 word increase)

Week 3 Stats:
Demon Rising--7705 (up 987 words)
Eleena's Tale--5738 (up 3034 words)
Addie's Song--1535 (up 935 words)
Plus SFK edits!

Join the fun and visit the others in the blog hop! Please link to your page, not the actual post. Thanks!

Feel free to post the list on your blog on post day. Simply add < to the beginning of the below code and > to the end. 

script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=2AA4259A-1673-4CFC-A0F6-C57C274B050E" ></script

Birth of a Novel Summer 2015 Week 3

Week 3

• Every Friday post a quick update on how you're doing on your writing projects. 
• It can be combined with Camp Nano or whatever personal goals you've set. 
• All you need is a line or two added to the beginning or end of whatever post you already had planned for the day.
• Then visit the others in the list to encourage them to keep moving forward. 

Help spread the word so we have more folks to visit.

This week went rather well. I wrote almost every day. Thursday was spent editing Search For Knowledge because I received two more critiques from Beta readers. Because of the wonderful people willing to read it and give me feedback, book 2 in Talia's series is slowly becoming something I'm more and more excited about.

I love filling in the little gaps to round out characters and plots. There are still scenes that need the edges knocked off, and other that could be sharpened a bit. All in all though, it's moving Talia in the right direction.

Working on edits of SFK is helping me stay grounded in Talia's world and making it easier to keep building her story in Demon Rising. Several times I had to tell myself to stop over thinking the plot and just write. This is a first draft after all.

Monday I asked one of my teen daughters to read the 4000+ words I had on Eleena's story. She's my target audience so I really wanted to see what she thought of the idea. To see if the beginning was enough to pull her in. My ego was bolstered by her reaction. The bit she read ended at the perfect cliff hanger and she's eagerly waiting for more.

AND...

You may have noticed a third counter in the sidebar. Addie's Song gained another 600 words this week. It's not an "official" project at the moment, but one day it will be so I gave it a word counter. A.S. will be a straight up contemporary YA. 

Week 1 Stats:
Demon Rising--5475 words
Eleena's Tale--2119 words

Week 2 Stats:
Demon Rising--6718 (1243 word increase)
Eleena's Tale--4823 (2704 word increase)

Week 3 Stats:
Demon Rising--7705 (up 987 words)
Eleena's Tale--5738 (up 3034 words)
Addie's Song--1535 (up 935 words)
Plus SFK edits!

I had a good writing week. How about you?

Join the fun and visit the others in the blog hop! Please link to your page, not the actual post. Thanks!

Birth of a Novel June 19th

Week 2

• Every Friday post a quick update on how you're doing on your writing projects. 
• It can be combined with Camp Nano or whatever personal goals you've set. 
• All you need is a line or two added to the beginning or end of whatever post you already had planned for the day.
• Then visit the others in the list to encourage them to keep moving forward. 

This week was not as productive as I'd hoped. We had three house showings Monday to Wednesday, and I never got into a groove. Plus it rained all week. With little sun to energize me, I found myself binge watching X-files and Criminal Minds on Netflix. 

It almost felt like I was slipping into a depressed state again. However, I pulled myself together yesterday. I showered first thing in the morning, cleaned my house again (just in case!), and then sat down to write. For extra security I didn't even go into the room where the TV was!

Last Friday's Stats:
Demon Rising--5475 words
Eleena's Tale--2119 words

New Stats:
Demon Rising--6718 (1243 word increase)
Eleena's Tale--4823 (2704 word increase)

That's almost 4000 new words this week. Which is actually more than my goal of 500 words a day! Yay, I did better than I thought. Now, if only I could do as much writing as yesterday, EVERY day. I'd be done in no time.

Demon Rising Details--I still feel comfortable in Talia's world. Connected to her conflict. It doesn't hurt that a couple of people have read book 2 now and are encouraging me to keep working on the next part of the story. The dragons will play an increasingly larger role in the story, and we are finally melding science and magic into one art form.

Eleena's Details--The refugee camp came alive for me this week. It's an odd sort of place that started with a sense of purpose and hope. That quickly fell with rations running out and the approach of the Tamati's fleet. Eleena didn't think she had anything else to lose. Boy was she wrong!

I also played around with making a trailer for it. Scifi vids are hard when you can't draw! Scouring stock photos takes forever and I can never find exactly what I want. Here it is anyway.

What are you working on? How are you going to accomplish your goal?

Sign up if you'd like to join us! Feel free to post the list on your blog on post day. Simply add < to the beginning of the below code and > to the end. 

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Goal Reached!

I set the goal to finish the revision of SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE this month. Since there were about 60 odd pages of random first person chapters and several missing scenes at the end, I thought it would take all month.

Yesterday I reached

THE END

And I did something I wouldn't normally do. I immediately queried my publisher.

Part of me thinks/knows I should have waited for my beta readers to get back to me. But the truth is I've been trying to get feedback on this story for six months. People are busy. Life is hard. Not everyone can sit down and read my book for me and give me advice.

The other part of me is ready to move forward with this series. It's been two years for crying out loud! This part won out thanks to several emails with my publisher. Karen let me vent my concerns and then encouraged me to just send it in. She said if nothing else, the acquisitions editor could at least give me a direction on what I need to work on to get it ready for them to accept.

So, no matter what happens in the next month or two, I've finally taken a much needed step forward.

It feels good!

While I wait I'll be drafting book three in the series. I learned my lesson. I will not lose the current momentum.

What are your goals? How are you doing on them? 

May 2015 IWSG Pushing Forward!

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.

I'm currently #77.

I've talked about a lot of my insecurities over the years, but there are others that I keep locked away. To speak them aloud or write them down would give them too much power. I think we all have things that we keep secret. On a successful day we even manage to keep it a secret from ourselves.

The funny thing is, nothing really stays hidden. The little fears and anxieties leak out when we least expect it. Lately I've started noticing them in my stories. Oh, sure, I knew bits of me were scattered all through the words on the pages, but there were things I didn't recognize as me as well.

Or perhaps I'm becoming those things?

Who knows?

When I dig into the trenches of a WIP I often get caught up in a character. If Talia is upset with Landry, I feel irrationally upset with my hubby. When she feels lost and confused about a certain plot twist, I find myself wandering my house looking for things to do other than write.

If the sun doesn't shine for weeks on end, Talia find's herself on a planet during the rainy season and unable to glean from the sun's power.

Sometimes it's a relief to become her, and then I remember all the torture I have in store for her. My real insecurity today is that I won't be able to bring myself to do it. I don't want to destroy every last bit of hope she has, but I'll have to in book three. That's the dark moment for the series. She has to reach that point in order to find the answers she's searching for.

I think that's a big reason I don't want to finish the second book in the series. It's slower paced than the first book, but it sets everything into motion for book three. If I finish Search For Knowledge I'll have to start Demon Rising in earnest.

I'm getting in my own way again. Trying to ease my character into the next stage when in truth, I just need to throw her off the cliff.

Do you ever get like this? What do you do to get over it?

November IWSG--Pushing Forward In Spite of Insecurities

It's IWSG time! Click here to see the complete list of participants. I'm currently #84

Can you believe it's already November?! It came so fast this year. Although it's possibly one of my favorite months, it can be a bit stressful. This year I added to that stress. :)

Nanowrimo
On November 1st I planned on sleeping in and being lazy all day. However, I was awake by 7 AM thinking, "It's November 1st! Must get up and write!"

My brain has been programed. Since I started participating in Nano in 2008, 4 of the 5 years were dedicated to writing Talia stories. Because of this, it's easy to turn back to her story for this month. I'm running with it! I'll probably do a mix of editing her second novel and drafting the third. This means I might not "win" this year, but for those readers who have been bugging me about the sequels it'll be a win. Every time I try to move forward something happens. Maybe this time I'll reach the end.

If you want to add me as a buddy, I go by solstice1974.

Bold New Worlds High School Short Story Contest
Mark this one up as a giant flop! I'm so sad about it too. As of Nov 1st there were no entries. The deadline is the 10th, but what kind of contest will it be with only 1-2 entries. *sigh* I'm prepared to return the donated prize money on November 11th.

One day I'll give this another try.

Kickstarter
Nanowrimo 2011 was the only year I didn't explore Talia's world. Instead I met a troubled girl named Ryanne. She had secrets I didn't want to uncover, but her desperate need to be loved in spite of her scars kept drawing me back to her. I finally finished her story in 2013. Early this year I dug into revisions with a drive I hadn't felt since THE MAGIC WAKES (WiDo Publishing, 2013).

I was on fire.

That novel has been through multiple beta readers and grown into something I never could have planned. Some people will love it. Others won't get it. It's about a co-dependent girl who protects those who hurt her and runs from those who can make her whole. She's based on many women in my life. All of us had to learn that we are worth it and embrace those who knew that.

This month I'm running a kickstarter to pay for a professional editor and typesetter. With any luck, I'll make my goal and this book will be available early next year. Please take a moment and watch my video about the project. The book trailer is at the end. Then think of it this way, a $12 pledge is pre-ordering a signed print copy of FADE INTO ME. I will be selling the print copy for $12 on Amazon and other places when it's available, but it won't be signed!

For those outside the US. An $8 pledge gets you the e-copy of FADE and the e-copy of my short story collection STELLAR CLOUD.

Thanks in advance for any support you can give. Even if that's just tweeting and facebooking the project to your friends.

What do you think? Does it sound like something you'd read?

Click HERE to read the first 2 chapters.

Early Praise for FIM--

Fade Into Me was a remarkable read. I couldn't put it down! Bradford writes the story with so much conviction, I wondered if she was trying to tell us all something about the human race. The book is clean and well written. The character building hooked me from page one. The author's imagination helps make the book come to life. I give the book a 5 out of 5 rating! Great read for all audiences! I can't wait for others to be able to discover this new Urban Fantasy!
~Alicia Rivoli - Author of The Enchantment Series

I love the glimpse into two different worlds and can't wait to see how they collide! I have a clear picture in my mind as I read, I can't help but visualize Caeden's world-not something I can usually do in the first chapter of a book. I'm only disappointed I can't read the rest yet!
~Trish

Is It Time Yet? New Blogging Schedule

There's one week left until school starts for my kids. Am I ready to jump back in to the three day a week blogging schedule?

I'm not sure that I will be. It depends on how often I get a call to substitute teach. And if I'm gone all day, the afternoons will be filled with my second full time job--Domestic Goddess.

Doesn't that sound nice? Makes cooking, cleaning toilets, laundry and dishes sound much more desirable than just homemaker. Anyway, I'm not ready to make any schedule promises, but I will say that if I blog, it will be on M, W and/or F.

Today I can update you on my August goals.

• I've started sending out emails to school principals concerning the short story contest.
• Battle for Sendek and Here There Be Dragons are plotted out on beat sheets. Yay!
• I've reread the last 50 pages of Fade Into Me in preparation for "filling the gaps".

Once I've done the edits on FIM, I can jump back into Search for Knowledge. My big goal for that one is to get it to beta readers no later than October (it needs considerable work!), and then to my publisher as quickly as possible after that. 

This November I'll draft BFS for Nanowrimo. I figure the only way I'm going to finish this series is by setting quicker goals and DOING it. 

Now, here is where I could use your help. Do you have a high school close to you? I bet you do. Would you be willing to print off a flyer about the contest and take it to the front office?

If so...

Here's the link to the Google Doc--

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0yMdIWpv-EGVnhkR3dMX0VqUWc/edit?usp=sharing

IWSG the Joys of August

I'm always more optimistic in August. Perhaps it's because this is my birth month and the month of my wedding anniversary. Maybe it has something to do with the kids heading back to school. You could say that for my family, August is the gate to the holiday trail. The rest of the year will be full of fun things to look forward to and prepare for.

Whatever it is, August feels like a sigh of relief to me. My family will slip back into a routine which soothes my need for order. I'll get to write again.

It's a time of setting new goals and digging deep to accomplish them.

August Goals:

• Send out emails for the Bold New Worlds Speculative Fiction Short Story Contest--Publicity baby!!
• Finish the beat sheets for books 3 and 4 in the Sendek Saga: Battle for Sendek and Here There Be Dragons
• Finish the last 50 pages of revisions for Fade Into Me
• Start deep revisions on book 2 in the Sendek Saga: Search For Knowledge

How do you feel about the approaching fall? Are you setting new goals?

Purpose of IWSG: 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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. I'm currently #92.