Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for October 2018’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: J.H. Moncrieff,Tonja Drecker, Patsy Collins, Chrys Fey.
Be sure to stop by their blogs and show them some love. December 5 question - What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?
Writing the next great American novel
1. A kick-ass computer system 2. Pack of Newport cigarettes 3. Ash tray 4. Coffee cup with three-day old coffee in it 5. Me, rockin’ it of course I'm sure glad this month's question is not 'What or who is buried in your backyard.'
Hello and as always thanks for stopping by and saying hi. Muchos gracias and I cannot thank you enough.
This month’s IWSG is brought to you by IWSGbrought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts Dolorah @ Book Lovers, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda and Chemist Ken. Be sure to stop by and give them some love. October 3 Question How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something? I write therefore I am.
Regardless of what is transpiring in my life, good or bad, I write. I take time off from writing throughout the year that adds up to 30 - 60 days but this is due to burnout and fatigue rather than life events. Yes I do write to help me get through the difficult times as well as enjoy the good ones. I’m big on finding balance in my life and writing helps me get through challenging times by bringing peace of mind to help balance days when it seems like the powers of darkness conspire together and attack.
I incorporate them into my books as internal and external conflict my characters go through. One example is Chase Manhattan. He is a giving kind of guy but still self-centered even when he doesn’t realize it.
This is part of his character arc and he learns to overcome by getting outside of himself and helping those less fortunate than himself. Question Do you use personal conflicts as part of your character arcs?
Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by, This month’s September 2018 Insecure Writer’s Support Group is brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his gang of co-horts Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coaltrin, M.J. Fifield and Tara Tyler. This Month’s Question ‘What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why?’ Me, I’m going solo these days on a number of different projects. It’s all good. This business can be feast or famine and right now I’m experiencing feast.
Time to strike and feast when the coals are hot. I don’t mind paying the middle man one bit whatsoever.
Who remembers this commercial? Ugh! I wish I had not but could not find a better image.
But it is working out the doors from the Good Lord above are shining down directly upon me and I’m very much thankful for that supply and abundance. Question What publishing path are you taking these days and why?
Hello everyone, as always thanks for stopping by and saying hi. The July 2018 IWSG brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts Erika Beebe, Sandra Hoover, Susan Gourley and Lee Lowery. July 2018 Question What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey? A few things. First We’re in this for the long haul. My books took a couple revisions after first publication, although the following novels were much easier to write.
Few experience instant success enough to quit their day job right away. It’s a journey filled with peaks and valleys, a roller coaster ride of emotions. But stay with it. You’re in it for the long haul. The last thing you want to do is lay on your death bed wondering, “What if ...” Second Make time for your loved ones and get their support before you begin your endeavor. The last thing you want is for them to see nothing but the back of your head as you spend much of your free time sitting in front of your monitor researching, writing and revising.
Finally Have fun. Yes your journey will be an emotional roller coaster, but hey, roller coasters are meant to be fun. So have fun!
July 3 question What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time (if at all)?
Mine are the same as they have always been; write more books. I’ve taken on a few side hustles but am about ready to jump right back into some really cool projects that I’ve done most of the research and grunt work. I have a timeline and it should be smooth sailing from here.
2018 Roswell UFO Festival The annual 2018 Roswell UFO Festival in Roswell New Mexico follows the Fourth of July and takes place July 5 – 8. This event hosts tens of thousands of people (and aliens?) every year. In fact, there were 38,000 visitors last year.
The City of Roswell invites UFO enthusiasts and skeptics alike to join in the celebration of one of the most debated incidents in history. The three-day event will feature guest speakers, authors, live entertainment, a costume contest, parade, a pet costume contest, parade, family-friendly activities and more.
The majority of big events are free. These include the Free Movie, Pet and Human Costume Contests, Light Parade and so much more. No charge to take selfies in the NASA suit, free alien autopsies, alien hat making and crafts. Some of the vendors, the UFO Museum and the Roswell Planetarium charge nominal fees.
Question What are your ultimate writing goals? And do you believe we are alone in this universe or is there intelligent life from beyond our solar system and are they here somewhere?
Be sure to stop by their blogs and show them some love! June 6 Question What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?
This one is easy. Book titles are harder. I’ll struggle for months at a time. Breakthrough was a no-brainer. But everything after that was a real struggle. In fact, I had to have a contest on my blog to help name Salem’s Daughters (then Murcat Manor) because I was shooting blanks for about a year.
Arlee Bird was the one to come up with the winning title. Thanks Lee!
Character Names This has always been easy. I come up with names by listening to who’s singing on the radio, authors of books laying around, or simply making them up.
Chase Manhattan came to me well after the rough and second draft were finished.
Manhattan came first. It has the word ‘man. And ‘hat’. John Wayne wore a hat. Indiana Jones wore a hat. So did a lot of other tough guys.
And Chase, well, he was either chasing someone down or being chased by some really bad guys. My neighbor was playing Jimi Hendrix and I used James and Hendrix for names of a couple security guards who incidentally were quickly killed. It's that easy.
Question How the heck are you? Hope life is treating you well or if you are going through trials you have a support group like IWSG to help.
Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love.
May 2 question - It’s spring! Does this season inspire you to write more than others, or not?
No, not really. I’m inspired to write 24/7 365 days a year for the most part. Sure I need a break now and then and it’s then that I binge watch at the movies and Netflix and such.
Tribute to Art Bell I would like to give tribute to radio host Art Bell, whose nationally syndicated paranormal, supernatural and conspiracy themed show Coast to Coast kept many people awake at night – for better or worse.
Bell’s show was broadcast from his home on approximately 500 North American radio stations in Pahrump NV on KNYE 95.1 FM, a station he founded. He passed on, of all days, Friday the 13th. Art Bell was 72.
I’ll miss Art bell. I listened to his show going back way too man yyears. His successor, George Noory, currently carries the reigns of the popular show.
Speaking of his home in Pahrump, NV this is the setting of Mars Attacks.
Avengers: Infinity Wars Review Okay, first and foremost spoiler alerts suck. That being said it's difficult to give an in-depth review of the block buster movie Avengers: Infinity War. So I'll address a few concerns I had while purchasing the tickets for the family in advance a couple weeks ago.
My first thought was how in the world could the good people at Disney and Marvel include so many characters into one movie. How will the chemistry between Iron Man, Spiderman and Dr. Strange work? Would the result be clumsy and awkward, shoving superheroes together like an uncomfortable crowded elevator?
Then I looked at the movie's running time. 2 hours and 40 minutes. Plenty of time for each character, individually and corporately to get plenty of face time. The writers worked it out and Avengers: Infinity War moved forward MARVELessly.
I also had doubts about Dr. Strange's role and if his supernatural would be a good fit with the technological aspect of Tony Stark. No problemo. Science and the supernatural complemented each other wonderfully. You know I like that! Well done Marvel.
Finally, how would Baby Groot fit in? Well, no spoiler alert here except to say I loved how Marvel continues to evolve their characters. Baby Groot is now a young typical teenager sassy and snarky hooked on video games and listening to music on his head set. They grow up fast. Well done again Marvel. You check it out at the 0.44 minute mark.
And Oh By The Way: to clear things up Teen Groot is not the original Groot. The original Groot died at the ned of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. This is son of Groot.
And Oh By The Way deux: Thor speaks Groot. He took the second language as an elective in high school.
My Rating: 5 Star. It's really hard to find anything wrong with this movie. Some people on Facebook said they did not like the cliffhanger ending. But hey, you know Disney and Marvel have to leave viewers salivating for more. Mission accomplished.
Question Do you write more now that it's Spring? Have you ever listened to Coast to Coast? Have you seen Avengers: Infinity Wars?
Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. It’s that time again for the April 2018 IWSG brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts Olga Godim, Chemist Ken,Renee Scattergood and Tamara Narayan. Be sure to stop by their blogs and show them some love. April 4 question - When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?
Me. I take the advice of one of the greatest minds of all time. Well, perhaps it’s one of the greatest hearts of all time. That scattered and absent minded yet pure of heart Dory from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. Her go to line is, “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.’
This month’s question: How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal/ finish a story?
Whatever it is I do will have to be outside the house as I have been inside for far too long getting to this milestone. But I generally do three things: Go to a good restaurant like the Cheesecake factory, walk around and get fresh air and sunshine, then see a movie.
The trifecta of rewards for me.
That being said, I am well on my way to leaving the workforce once again and working part-time out of the house and finishing a few books I have outlined.
I gave myself six months from the start of the New Year and I’m well on my way.
My Wall of Fame (this is what we sell). I've collected Michigan teams.
I had to re-enter the workforce and although I’m thankful for the people who hired me I absolutely despise the idea of working five days just to get two days off. And people were not designed to work 40 hours inside. At least I sit next to a window wall overlooking greenery.
Hello everyone. As always thanks for stopping by! The awesome co-hosts for the February 7 posting of the IWSG are Stephen Tremp,Pat Garcia,Angela Wooldridge,Victoria Marie Lees, and Madeline Mora-Summonte!. 👍💖😀Please be sure to stop by their blogs and show them some love!
February 7 question - What do you love about the genre you write in most often? My genre is speculative fiction and I love combining science with the supernatural. Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2 simply, beautifully and eloquently states energy is equal to matter times the speed of light squared.
Replicas to Scale. These were not big bombs and the uranium took up a fraction of the space.
Our minds struggle to frame just how immense this power is. Think of the two nuclear bombs dropped in WWII. Only 2 – 3 percent of the potential energy was released from 2 pounds of uranium-235.
Random Image
I believe there are angelic and demonic beings. They exist naturally in a state of energy, or the E in E=MC2. Some have the authority and ability to cross over the equal sign in the equation and physically manifest themselves as matter in our world of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching.
Not just matter. Matter times the speed of light squared. Folks, this is a lot of power! And this would help explain much of the crazy stuff in our history and current events. This is what I love writing in my genre of speculative fiction. Which may not be so speculative after all.
Hello everyone. Hope you all had a fun and safe holiday season! It’s a brand new year and time for fresh start in many areas of your life you need or want. Sometimes you need to build a brand new spanking door from scratch from your own needs and wants for opportunity to come knocking. And let’s give it up for this month’s IWSG contributors and be sure to stop by and give them some love: Alex J. Cavanaugh, Tyrean Martinson, Ellen@TheCynicalSailor, Megan Morgan, Jennifer Lane and Rachna Chhabria. What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing?
I’ve actually devised such a daring and dastardly plan. I have a series of short stories outlined. I think they are all winners and many have to do with how we react to visitations from our intergalactic neighbors. There is even a lot of humor in some of the stories. Then there is the MG / YA series I’ve been working on set to begin in the year 2099. Here is the tagline (from the year 2099): “We’ve spent the past 100 years searching the nighttime skies for habitable planets and signs of intelligent life; but they found us first.” I’ve been nickel and diming my way through this and it won’t take much to fill it out and complete the first of the five books of the series.
