IWSG - Dec 2014

Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. To join, click on the name links above and post on your blog the first Wednesday of every month. Sign up and meet some awesome people!


I participated in NaNoWriMo last month, and even though I didn't make the 50k mark, I'm glad I tried because I was able to write 36K that I can continue working on.
One thing that NaNo helped me with is my inner editor that usually refuses to go away... with NaNo, I HAD to put the blasted I.E. to the side and just write. And you know what? I loved the carefree-ness of it. I want to do that more often, then do my editing after it's written. I don't know if that will work with future works or not, but I'd like to think that it would. 
This month, I will finish this WIP. And hope that I can edit in January, instead of during... we shall see.

IWSG - Post #13

Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, is a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. 

To join, click on the links and post on your blog the first Wednesday of every month. Sign up and meet some awesome people!

My WIP is coming together *woot!* and I've decided to delve into organizing things visually, more than I normally do, so it's not all stored in my head. In the past, I've used a notepad, pencil/pens, and laptop, but this time around I wanted to try something different. 

So, with this manuscript, I use my laptop as well as:

post-it notes

index cards (lined and unlined, different colors)

notepads

steno pads

maps

different colors of pens

What things do you use to help with telling your story? Any suggestions you have for staying organized? Thanks for any and all advice!

Check out other bloggers at Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest, a joint-blog reveal, and Express Yourself Meme

It's time for Ninja Captain Alex's Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest. 

List your top 10 favorite movies then visit other blogs to see their choices. Click HERE for more details on this fun blog hop!




My top 10 fave movies (as of now):

10. Step Brothers
9.  Ratatouille
8.  Gladiator
7.  The Ref
6.  Reality Bites
5.  Titanic
4.  Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
3.  Dawn of the Dead (2004 version)
2.  Tombstone
1.  The Notebook

What are your top ten favorite movies?

Also, today is the reveal of a joint blog with *drum roll* please ... Dani @Entertaining Interests. I mean, who else would it be? *shows a devilish smirk* 
Please venture to our joint blog, Cover Girls. We participated in Alex's blogfest over there, too! 

It's also Express Yourself time! The question that Danielle and I came up with this week is:

Do you have a lucky charm or lucky ritual?







Well, I have three "lucky" rituals...

1. I LOVE Lucky Charms... no, not a certain charm. I'm talking about the actual cereal. When I eat it, I make a wish on the last green clover marshmallow in the bowl. LOL Typing this out, I know I sound so stupid! But to each her/his own, right?
2. When the time on a clock is all the same number, I make a wish. Always. Like if it's 12:12, I think of something in my head and hope it comes true. 
3. Prayer. No it's not "lucky" ... there's no luck involved. But I'm listing it here because it works. Period. 

Do you have any lucky charms or rituals? Check out other bloggers who participate in the Express Yourself Meme. If you'd like to join, you only need to sign up once and post your answer sometime that week. And if you miss a week or two, no biggie. Make sure to visit other participants and have fun with it!

CassaStorm cover reveal and Celebrate the small things

Alex J. Cavanaugh's cover reveal of CassaStorm is today!!!

CassaStorm by Alex J. Cavanaugh

http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, his only struggles are occasional rogue pirate raids and endless government bureaucracies. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, shaking Bassan to the core and threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could be on its way back. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

Release date: September 17, 2013

Science Fiction - Space Opera/Adventure

Print ISBN 9781939844002

E-book ISBN 9781939844019

Also, I decided to join in on the fun of "Celebrate the small things" - the weekly meme of VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

My reasons to celebrate this week?

*a partial request for my manuscript, Wishful Thinking, from an agent sent in
*a full request for same novel from a pub
*becoming closer again to a long lost friend :)
*the smiles on my sons faces each morning. I love them so much, and thank God for them.


Have a great weekend!!!! And happy writing!

IWSG - Nov Post #8

I'm late for IWSG. My apologies to Alex J. Cavanaugh,  the host, and to all my fellow IWSG blogging buddies. Wednesday was a terrible day. And Thursday? Well, I was still reeling from Wednesday. So, here we are. On Friday. *sigh*
I won't drone on about what happened on Wednesday, because it's depressing, and I have good news to share, so hopefully that will trample over the sucky week!

The news... I'm finished! Yes, it took a long time. Almost a whole year. Well, minus three sporadic months that I didn't write, so really it took nine months. Do I think it will take me that long again? No, because I'm getting better at plotting and time management! :D

What am I even referring to? My MS, Wishful Thinking, is finished. I'd discussed with Kimmy (one of my CP's) about blogging the news, but decided to wait to share it for IWSG. I presented the idea to my CP's back in October of 2011 and took off from there!

The past year, my patient CP's have helped me through this process with their critiques, cheerleading, laughter, tears, phone calls, texts, emails... their help is endless. And for that, I'm grateful.
So, thanks Kimmy, Kim, and Laura! (And yes my lovely girls, I'll be sending the final round to you this weekend/next week for your wonderful eyes to peruse one last time.)

My rough pitch for Wishful Thinking:
When 17 yr old Kara McAdams discovers she's a genie, she freaks, but then her crush, Jagger Donnelly, becomes her master, making her think this genie stuff isn’t so bad.

That is, until Simone Spencer, a girl who wants Jagger for herself, gets a hold of Kara’s magic lamp and uses her wishes to make Kara’s life a total genie-living hell.

Like I said, it's a rough pitch, but you get the idea.
I'm working on a query to go out in the next couple weeks. YIKES! I'm terrified. I've done the query route before. The rejections.. sure they sting at first, but then it's ho-hum. But the rejections on the full requests? Those hurt worse. And then there's those no answer ones. I won't go there. I'm just scared. I want to share this book with the world, but what if I'm still not good enough? What if, after writing three books, my writing is still not book material?
Curse those damned "What if's" and their friends, "I can't's" .... *sigh*

Genre Favorites Blogfest

Alex J. Cavanaugh is hosting the Genre Favorites Blogfest ... One blogfest, four favorites! List your favorite genre of movie, music, books, and a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories! Click on the pic to check out other participating bloggers.

My choices:

Movie - Tie between comedy and horror 
Music - pop rock

Books - (young adult) romance 
Guilty pleasure - cheesy horror. I know it's probably more of a subgenre, but it fits perfect for this choice. :D

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Alex for another cool blogfest!