December 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for November’s 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Tonja Decker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nikki Elson, and Tyrean Martinson. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month! 

Oh BTW if you're wondering why my links are pink rather than the standard blue, it's because I first started doing this for Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Race for the Cure waaaaayyyy back in the day. I've never changed back.

December 4 question 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? 

Future me? Oh, I dunno know. Probably what I’m doing now. Sitting on the couch with my best bud Bender, drinking beer and binge watching Netflix.

Question Do you have a BFF robot? With advances in robotics where it is today would you if you could?

November 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for November’s 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa-Buie Collard, Erika Beebe and C. Lee McKenzie. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month! 

November Question What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story? 

For me, researching advanced pre-Adamic civilizations who actually built the great structures like the pyramids across the world. I did not believe in them at the time, but through my research I am now a believer. 

There were advanced civilizations before Adam and Eve six or seven thousand years ago that built these great structures. These civilizations, and possibly others before them, dies out for whatever reasons leaving little or no trace of their existence except for the great pyramids and other pyramids across the globe, the sphinx, the Kailasa Temple and so much more. 

Kailasa Temple 

Civilizations like the ancient Egyptians simply moved in, took over, and the kings claimed they built the structures. The evidence is more than quite compelling.

In Genesis God told Adam and Eve to repopulate the earth. Must have been people here before them like Keith Richards.

Genesis 1:28
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Genesis 9:1
“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

Question Do you think there have been advanced civilizations before our recorded history of about six thousand years?

October 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for August 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month! 

October 2 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? What are your thoughts? 

I don’t see how one can develop the necessary character arcs of multiple personalities let alone create settings especially in a mythical world if they are not healthy readers. 

The Ultimate Game of Jenga

The best books I’ve read all come from writers who are voracious readers. This is true for fiction and non-fiction. 

Unless the writer uses a ghost writer. And I don’t read many of those books. 

Question Fall is officially here. Any special plans for a spooky October?

September 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for August 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken and Catherine Constantiner. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month!!! 

September 4 Question If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why? 

Easy. That would NOT be the setting of my next book which is around New York and Washington D.C. I would pick a tropical paradise, not during Spring Vacation and not in the intensely hot and humid months. 

Blue skies. Crystal clear turquoise oceans. White sandy beaches. The freedom to get up out of my hammock for a quick refreshing dip the back to work. Might as well make the hammock my bed while I’m at it. 

Might as well make it a healthy event. I don’t ‘day drink’ so I’d eat super dooper healthy and get plenty of exercise strolling on the beach and swimming with the tortoises, dolphins and manta rays. Evenings might be another story ...

Of course, my pasty white skin would need to adapt to the tropical sun. Hey, a guy can dream, like what I'm doing with this post,right? 

Question Now that summer is over what have you jumped into like writing or editing simply outlining new stories?

September 2019 IWSG

Question Do you feel sad, sometimes terribly sad, when you are wrapping up a long project like a kid leaving home for college or getting married and starting off on their own .... feel like en empty nester.

Or do you lock the front door and draw the curtains shut turn off the porch light and breathe a sigh of relief. Whew! I thought they'd never leave.

August 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for August 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Renee Scattergood, Sadira Stone, Jacqui Murray, Tamar Narayan and L.G. Keltner. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month! 

August 7 question - Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive and belated response to a submission you'd forgotten about or an ending you never saw coming? 

What’s surprised me the most are my characters fighting for face time. The elbow each other and jostle for position as I lay out a scene. 

Example Staci Bevere is the antagonist’s girlfriend. She was pretty much an afterthought, someone to form part of the group of killers but originally she was “just there” in the room with few speaking lines. 

But Staci is one tenacious character. She kicked and screamed and bit and scratched and clawed her way to a main character. My series would not be what it is without her. 

So yes this her development was more than a pleasant surprise. The antagonist Nicky Fischer would not be nearly developed and conflicted without her. This was a major surprise for me. 

Question What have been some of your highlights so far this summer?

July 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for July 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Erica Beebe, Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, M.J. Fifield, Lisa-Buie Collard, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month! 

July 3 Question What personal traits have you written into your character(s)? 

Um, only a couple of things. Chase Manhattan is me. Only he’s a bit taller. And better looking. And athletic. And certainly has far more $$$. Oh, and he’s way smarter too. 

Did I mention he’s an adjunct professor of physics (mainly because the professor became too ill to perform his duties) at University of California – Irvine? 

But that’s about it. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for destroying the ability to create wormholes through time and space that release a demons bound for a time and a place called Armageddon early and he almost brings his destiny to our world earlier than it should. 

But that’s it. Oh, and he also fights inter-dimensional demons and saves the planet and all its inhabitants from nuclear annihilation. 

But other than that Chase is kind of a boring guy. 

Question What are your big plans for the summer? Me, I’m releasing online courses that are the fruition of a lot of time, effort and sacrifice. Question Do you consider yourself more of an extrovert or an introvert?

IWSG May 2019, Introverts vs. Extroverts, and The Smoulder

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for May 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Lee Lowry, Juanita Key, Yvonne Ventresca and T. Powell Coltrin. 

Be sure to stop by their sites and give them some love for all their hard work this month! 

May 1 Question What was an early experience where you learned that language had power? 

Well I must say being a bit of an introvert I struggled early with all aspects of language; verbal, physical, subtle, the smoulder, etc. So I learned to take it slow and easy. I’ve always been a bit of a slow starter, but make no mistake I’m in this for the long haul. 

The Smoulder

I realized in junior high gym class we’d have to run distances. My gm teacher, she knew me from being a teacher in elementary school with a wicked sense of humor, mocked me as I quickly fell to the back of the pack. But I showed her and beat the crowd as I eventually passed each of them to finish first. 

Okay, back to language. I’m far better with the written than the spoken word. Dealing with people is a bit of a challenge sometimes but I learned a long time ago to ‘Fake It Until I make it’. It works for me. I found the balance and can produce results and in the end this is what matters. It’s not necessarily how you start it’s how you finish. 

Question Do you consider yourself more of an extrovert or an introvert?

April 2019 IWSG

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, Natalie Aguirre, Patsy Collins and Chemist Ken. 

April 2019 Question If you could use a wish to help you write just ONE scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be? 



Fantasy writers often need to create entire new worlds. This means a writer has to create an entire new setting which includes geography, maps, kingdoms, cities, peoples and creatures, social and political rules, social classes, wars, technology, magic, paranormal events, a history of how the setting came to be and possibly languages and how people speak.  

Whew! That’s a lot! 



Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, many Disney movies and Star Wars are classic examples. Whether it’s writing the material yourself or reading books or bringing these stories to the big screen and TV you can see how much work goes into creating and developing these new worlds, people and creatures. 

This is a lot of work. So writing a new setting for a fantasy world is what I would spend my one wish on. 

Question Have you had to create new worlds and the individual components that make up the settings?

March 2019 ISWG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for March 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, Lisa Buie-Collard. 

Be sure to stop by and give them all a hug and some good old fashioned lovings. 

March 6 Question - Whose perspective do you like to write from best, the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist)? And why? 

Both. 

The villain is the supporting actor or actress. Actually, I have a full supporting cast of villains in my books. 

Yes, for books like mine I have the alpha male. There is Chase Manhattan from Laguna Beach, CA and Bob and Debbie Stevens from Kalamazoo, MI as the main characters.  

But supporting antagonists are vital to the success of a story. Vital means necessary for life. If you’re antagonists don’t bring life to your manuscripts, you’re flat-lining. 

Stephen King said in his book On Writing (and I’m paraphrasing) you have to satisfy your reader by building p your protaginist(s) then tearing them down. 

You owe it to the reader for a spectacular downfall for the antagonists. 

I've worked very hard and I believe I achieved such downfalls for my characters.

Lesson Learned Don’t disappoint your readers. You owe it to them to build up then tear down your antagonists. 

Question Do you build up then tear down your antagonists?

2019 IWSG

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: Raimey Gallant, Natalie Aguirre, CV Grehan, Michelle Wallace. 

Be sure to stop by and show them all a little love! 

February 6 Question Besides writing what other creative outlets do you have? 

I love writing speculative fiction and blogs. That can be said about most if not all of us. 

But I also write online courses. I have for almost 20 years. I remember my manager at the time encouraging me to take online courses. This was back in dial-up modem days. 

I flipped through the catalog and knew I could teach many of these classes. I took a yellow marker and highlighted every course that was NOT offered online (some were physical classroom, some online and some both). Then I took a black pen and crossed out every class I could not or did not want to teach (like under water basket weaving). 

What was left were physical classroom courses I could teach and pitched the school. They took a chance and rolled the dice with me and that was the start of me becoming an online instructor. 

I branched out on with my personal online courses with mixed results. I’ve recently brought these into the 21st century and transitioned from written content to videos. I’m currently in the editing stage. I’m super doper excited to have my beta people review selected segments and give me their feedback, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. 

Question Does your writing expand beyond novels and blogs? If so, what are they? Thanks in advance for sharing.

January 2019 IWSG

Hello everyone and as always thanks for stopping by. These are the co-hosts for January 2019’s Insecure Writers Support Group brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh and his team of co-hosts: Patricia Lynne, Lisa-Buie Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue. Be sure to stop by their blogs and give them some love. 

January 2 question - What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing? 

My favorite question about my writing Where do I get my inspiration. And I'm off and running.

Inspiration is Everywhere I never have writer’s block. Why? Because I find inspiration wherever I go. The inspiration for my novel, Salem's Daughters came from the nocturnal cats at my parents' one-hundred-year-old house, who learned to stand and use their paws to open doors. Sleeping in my old bedroom while visiting on vacation, all I saw and heard was the old glass style door knobs rattling, then the door opening before the cats dropped to the carpet out of my sight. Spooky! 

The next day we drove the two-lane roads of southern Michigan. The scenery along the north branch of the Kalamazoo River was beautiful. With vivid imagery, my parents told me of their childhood and their life and times as kids growing up there. 

We happened upon a very old dilapidated farmhouse and barn that looked so creepy I thought the property might very well be haunted. During that twenty-four period the cats, the incredible imagery along the Kalamazoo River, and the spooky old ramshackle house and barn was all it took, and Salem's Daughters was born. 

It’s that easy to be inspired with ideas from your everyday surroundings if you simply learn to recognize what’s going on around you! 

What’s my least favorite question people ask about my writing? If I will read their non-researched and unedited manuscript. I am nice but blunt and tell them they can give me a synopsis of a page or two and I’ll tell them if I think it’s a good idea. But no way am I reading 100 pages of loose random thoughts.

Question What did you do for New Years Eve? here's what I did.