Just Keep Swimming, Um, I Mean Writing

So, yeah, here we are at a new month. I do feel the tide turning a bit as it comes to my exhaustion and executive functioning. Maybe the arrival of Spring will help me finish up Folds in Life and Death. *crosses fingers*

I still have the same goals as last month. Finish writing "Paper Faces" and then editing it after my critique partner reads it. Proofread the collection. I'm going to hold off on the paperback book a bit, though. My day job is letting me learn Photoshop, so I want to use it to create the paperback cover, which I will do after I take a six-week introductory class in Photoshop.

So I might be able to get Folds in Life and Death out in the next few weeks. Maybe. We'll see.

What are your April goals?

Oh, I do want to share something with you. The class I'm taking is from a site called www.ed2go.com. They have so many different colleges and classes to choose from. The prices are reasonable too. I'm doing mine through Virginia Western Community College, which I attended just after high school. The classes don't count as credits, but they will appear on transcripts. I'm hoping work will pay for the two Photoshop ones, but I also want to do the American Sign Language class, one on introductory drawing, and one on doing research as a writer.

Have you tried any classes on ed2go before or something like that?

First Quarter Stats

~ January - March ~

0 words written

24,090 words edited

14,957 friends' words edited

One Step at a Time

As you can probably guess, I'm not getting anywhere fast. I'm still struggling with fatigue and executive function failure, but I am making slow progress on Folds in Life and Death. What I've written so far has been edited. I still have several things to accomplish before publishing the collection. These things included:

1. Finish writing "Paper Faces." I have probably another 2,000 words to go in that story. I also need to write the book's description and an acknowledgements' page.
2. Self-edit "Paper Faces" and send the collection to my critique partner.
3. Implement my CP's suggestions and do a Kindle proofread.
4. Format for print and do a print proofread.
5. Make necessary changes in the print/election formats and publish.

As you can see, I have decided to make a print book of the collection. For one, I want to see how publishing in print is through KDP instead of Createspace. For two, I like having a print copy for myself, and I think this collection will just be long enough for a small book (100-150 pages).

So I'm shooting for a spring launch (hopefully by April). *crosses fingers*

I've turned off comments on this post as I still have many blogs to catch up on. Plus, I would like to point you to my post on Untethered Realms. I talked about the inspiration behind the stories in Folds in Life and Death.

Mode: Executive Function Fail

This blog post almost didn't happen. You see, I prefer to schedule my posts in advance. I usually have an idea what to say several weeks ahead of time, but this time, I didn't realize it was time to post again until Friday and am writing the post on Saturday. *sighs*

My brain has been stuck in executive function fail mode for weeks. I am keeping up with the day job, but everything else has taken a backseat. Well, a backseat might be a bit too kind. It's more like they're three Everests behind me. I want to do things, like complete and publish Folds in Life and Death as well as visit and comment on blogs, read books, and answer emails, but I just can't seem to start the tasks.

So it means Folds in Life and Death will take a little more time before I publish it. I'm now shooting for early March. *crosses fingers* I need to do a read-through edit of "Paper Lanterns," do a read-through edit and change "The Folding Point" from third to first person, and finish writing and editing "Paper Faces." After that, I need to do one more proofread (on my Kindle) of all four stories, and it'll be ready to go.

I know I can do this, but I just need to find the energy to do so. Wish me luck!

What are your goals this month?

Sharpening the Creative Mind #IWSG

The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. November's co-hosts are Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman. Please follow the other participants.

November's IWSG optional question: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

A person prone to daydreaming and even more vivid dreams, I've always felt creative. Writing, however, was not something I was interested in doing for a very long time. Yet the characters were there, and after ten years of online roleplaying games, I delved into writing my own works.

There were starts and stumbles. I had, and still have, so much to learn, but each day I feel like I grow more creative. I delve with more purpose into the characters I create and their complex lives. I can't imagine not spending time with them. They help me piece together our world.

As for insecurities, I am slowly making more progress after months of working on Elements of Untethered Realms as well as going through an autistic burnout. I still am exhausted most weekends, but I'm working toward writing more regularly.

What are your insecurities this month?

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So last month, I was working on a short story as well as planning to set my sights on the next Untethered Realms' anthology. I didn't touch my plans for UR Worlds, but I did complete one scene out of three in my short story. Unfortunately, I still have not completed said story in time to submit to a certain anthology.

The good news is I am making progress in the story, which was named "Fade In... Fade Out" but is now called "Paper Faces." The story leans toward YA contemporary romance and was loosely connected to the town from my Once upon a Nightmare collection. Now I'm going back through and adding some Paperist touches because I've decided early next year to release "Paper Faces" as part of a short story collection titled Folds in Life and Death. The collection will also include the stories from my paper magics' world that are previously published: "Folds in Life and Death" from Parallels: Felix Was Here, "Paper Lanterns" from Mayhem in the Air, and "The Folding Point" from Spirits in the Water.

I am also trying to keep up with writing a bit a day, so I've set a 15 minute writing goal every day for the month of November. So far, so good. With any luck, I'll finish the first draft of "Paper Faces" and will be able to start outlining Entangled for UR Worlds.

What are your goals for November? Good luck to those participating in NaNoWriMo!

2018 Stats

23,144 words written

46,303 words edited

381,387 friends' words edited

5 Reasons to Write to a Timer #amwriting

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you know I've been using a timer to time my writing every single day. I started at twenty-two minutes (15 minutes for project one and 7 minutes for project two) back in July 2015 and am now writing two 30-minute sessions a day in one project.

Well, Tyrean Martinson invited me to write a post on five reasons to write to a timer, and that post is up today on her blog. I hope you'll stop by!

I've turned off comments to this post, but please do consider commenting on my post at Tyrean Martinson's blog!

The Timer Is Set #IWSG | September Book Releases #specfic

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by the awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh. September's co-hosts are C. Lee McKenzie, Rachel Pattison, Elizabeth Seckman, Stephanie Faris, Lori L MacLaughlin, and Elsie Amata. Click here for a list of participants.

First, thank you so much for your responses on last month's IWSG post. For now, I've decided to use a pen name for my urban fantasy work, although I won't create the name and the information for her until I finish writing the series. After all, a lot can change in publishing between now and then.

This month's IWSG question is: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

My answer is I pencil it in, so to speak.

Since July 1, 2015, I decided to write for so many minutes a day. I started at a total of twenty-two minutes, and by November 1, 2015, I was writing forty-five minutes a day. I use a timer to keep track of my writing time.

So far I haven't missed a day. Even on the days I really don't want to write, I sit down and do it. If nothing else, the timer and dedication gets me to open up my document and put my hands on the keyboard. Whether I write 100 words or 1500, it all counts.

From July 1, 2015-August 31, 2016, I've written 388,061 words.

Of course, now I'm still majorly insecure on finding the time to edit all those words.

What are your insecurities this month?

August was a pretty good month goal-wise. Of course, if I hadn't taken a week off work, I wouldn't have gotten nearly so much finished.

On August 13, I finished the rewrite and first edit of A Soul to Kill (A Soul Reaper prequel short novel). My critique partner loved it, so I'm excited to be writing A Soul to Reap (Soul Reaper 1) again. On August 28, I finished writing a new short story in my Paperist world. Look for "The Folding Point" to be in Spirits in the Water (Untethered Realms' anthology 4) in October 2017. For Labor Day weekend, I finished my edits on A Soul to Save (A Soul Reaper novella, previously titled A Soul to Protect), and it's now with my critique partner.

The rest of the year will be a busy one with helping a friend publish her urban fantasy series and publishing Ghosts of Fire (Untethered Realms' anthology 3), but I'm hoping to find some balance between that and editing my own work *coughsTheFateChallenges* while continuing to write the Soul Reaper series.

My September goals included:

Write for at least forty-five minutes a day in A Soul to Reap.

Final proofread and formatting for Ghosts of Fire.

Help my friend with her series (editing, proofreading, formatting).

2016 Stats: 238,135 words written and 1417 pages edited

I've been reading not yet published books and am in the midst of several published ones, so I unfortunately don't have any reviews this time.

#SPECFIC BOOKS RELEASING IN SEPTEMBER

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

The Ones by Daniel Sweren-Becker

Bury the Living by Jodi McIsaac

Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black

And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

The Lying Planet by Carol Riggs

Prodigal by Jody Wallace

Unthinkable by Nina Croft

Forsaken Skies by D. Nolan Clark

Chasing Embers by James Bennet

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists by J.K. Rowling

Hogwarts by J.K. Rowling

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by J.K. Rowling

I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil

The Dark Talent by Brandon Sanderson

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

Ghosts in the Machine by Richard Farr
The Unbroken Line of the Moon by Johanne Hilderbrant

#IWSG: 2016 Goals

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the IWSG participants, please click here. The co-hosts for January are L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace.

Wow. 2016. We made it! I hope everyone had a good holiday and end of the year.

Today, I have my 2016 goals post. Of course, any goals are subject to change, but it's always nice to plan big to start out with and be full of optimism that I might actually accomplish what I set out to do. *laughs*

READING GOALS

I'd like to read at least twenty-four books in 2016.

WRITING GOALS

I want to continue writing thirty minutes a day in a primary project and fifteen minutes a day in a secondary project. So far I've kept up with writing every single day since July 1, 2015.

Some of the projects I'd like to write, although not necessarily finish this year, include Destined (The Fate Challenges #3), A Soul to Kill (Soul Reaper #0), a Soul Reaper short story for Untethered Realms anthology #4, A Soul to Reap (Soul Reaper #1), and either Fall of Gravity series or To the Future series or something else in that secondary spot once I finished Destined and move Soul Reaper series to my primary spot.

HEALTH GOALS

Since I've been exercising every single day since May 24, 2015, I would like to continue exercising. Right now I'm at thirty minutes a day and am slowly increasing the intensity. I'm also hoping to learn how to cook. Yes, yes, I know. I'm thirty-three. I should know how to cook by now, but beyond frozen pizza, I'm rather hopeless, but I can learn and will learn.

What are your goals for this new year?

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In December, I finished the bonus woodwose section for the boxed set of The Fate Challenges as well as the second novel in that series, Forged. The first draft of Forged, which I wrote from August 31-December 31 came in at 74,006 words. According to the handy minute tracker in Microsoft Word, Forged took me 68.6 hours to complete. I've been writing A Soul to Kill and have edited "On Day 168."

My 2015 total stats were 172,920 words written and 1775 pages edited.

My January goals include:

Write thirty minutes a day in a main project. This project is Destined.

Write fifteen minutes a day in a secondary project. I'm still working on A Soul to Kill.

Continue outlining the Soul Reaper series.
Continue outlining Destined.
Edit a friend's novelette.
Edit a friend's novel.

Edit Marked.

IWSG: To Write or Rewrite | Fall 99c Sale | Wattpad Wednesdays | Awesome Giveaway

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the IWSG participants, please click here. The IWSG Anthology Contest is open until November 1st. Click here for details. You must post either September or October to be considered for the anthology. Our co-hosts are TB Markinson, Tamara Narayan, Eva E. Solar, Shannon Lawrence, and Stephanie Faris.

The writing is still going well. I've been writing every single day since July 1, mainly between two projects, although I had three in September. But within the next few months, I will have my secondary project slot empty. Here is where my insecurity lies.

Once I finished the first draft of The Mission (The Gaia Project 1.1), the short story "On Day 168" slipped into the second spot. As soon as I complete that first draft, I've recently decided to write the bonus woodwose section that will appear in The Fate Challenges boxed set. I figure those chapters will take me through November and maybe even into December. But what should I write after that?

I have several projects I could rewrite, including The Cassandra Project series (3 books, NA Paranormal Suspense), Fall of Gravity series (3 books, YA Sci-fi), or a horror short story collection. All except the last book in The Cassandra Project series have been written, but ALL need major rewrites, which would involve rereading through the stories, writing new outlines, and writing the books.

But do I want to rewrite old work? I just don't know. There is a thrill in exploring something new. I have so many series I want to write one of these days, including To the Future series (4 books, YA Urban Fantasy), Tides of Fortune series (9 books, Epic Fantasy), Paranormal Freaks series (2 books, YA Horror), Less Than Princess Perfect (4 books, Epic Fantasy), etc. Of course, any new series I write will need planning before writing, especially anything within a different world.

Do I even want to work on a series? I know series sell better than standalone novels, but I'd love to write the standalone book No More Than Shadows (YA Alt. World Fantasy) one of these days. I'm sure there is something quite pleasurable in writing a novel to completion and knowing that's it, that I don't have to stress over the next book and the next within the series.

So that's where I am at with my insecurities this month. Too many choices. All requiring a lot of work and dedication and pre-planning that I need to work on now before I end up with no second project and nothing planned. Of course, it's not a terrible thing to have too many ideas, but they can end up very overwhelming. (Not that I have to have a second project of course, but I like the feeling of accomplishment of working on more than one story at a time. I've stood still for far too long.)

What are your insecurities?

From now until 11/16, you can purchase Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection (paranormal horror), Reborn (YA Epic Fantasy), and People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors (Epic Fantasy short stories) for 99 cents a piece.

Click here for purchase links.

Read Reborn from the beginning or Chapter Thirty-Four.

Here's the deal, all you need to do is visit the Rafflecopter page and enter. It's as simple as that. At the end of the month one winner will be randomly selected to win an e-book copy of all five books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#IWSG: Getting into a Routine | Wattpad Wednesday: Reborn Chapter 30 | An Awesome Giveaway

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the IWSG participants, please click here.

I haven't been a person who enjoys exercising. Sure, I was forced to take gym and actually did love playing soccer for nine years while in school, but otherwise, I've led a pretty sedentary lifestyle. But having been diagnosed with mild carpal tunnel, tendinitis, and chronic myofascial pain syndrome has made me realize if I didn't start moving now, I may not be able to move years down the road. This realization scared me. On May 24, 2015, I decided to start exercising, but I had to lay down some ground rules first.

1. Exercise is about movement, not weight loss.
Every time in the past I exercised to lose weight, I got frustrated when the pounds weren't melting off. For me, I can't focus on weight loss but being more active.
2. Start slow and ease myself into exercise.
In the past, I started out walking a mile or riding the stationary bike three miles. It was too much for me. I would get sick or injured. This time, I told myself I would start with 5-10 minutes of exercise a day and slowly increase it by month. I did 5-10 minutes through the end of June and then upped it to 10-15 minutes in July. August has me at 15-20 minutes. I've also been focusing mainly on strength and flexibility (yoga, tai chi, and light free weights) and am slowly adding cardio (a ballet conditioning DVD).
3. Have a reasonable top goal.
My top goal is to exercise at least thirty minutes every single day, which I should achieve in November.

There are days I don't want to exercise. Days I hurt and feel like my ankle or back will snap into two. Days I wish I was still in bed instead of getting up early to exercise. But I know the first day I don't exercise, I will quit. Knowing that has kept me going.

So what does that have to do with writing?

Well, I haven't written much or steadily for a LONG time. So I applied what I did for exercise to writing with a few ground rules.

1. Writing is about time length, not how many words I get.
Some days the words come easily. Others, not so much. So I decided not to set word count goals but how much time I spent writing. In July, it was 10-15 minutes on a main project and 5-7 on a secondary project. I upped it to 15-20 minutes main project and 7-10 minutes secondary project. I can write longer, but I have to write at least the minimum every day.
2. Stop writing when I want to keep writing.
Yeah, it sounds really counterproductive. But if I stop when I want to write more, then it'll make it easier to start writing the next day.
3. Have a reasonable top goal.
Ideally, I'd love to spend an hour on a main project and thirty minutes on a secondary project, but with my wrist, I don't know if I'll be able to maintain that much writing, so my reasonable top goal is thirty minutes a main project and fifteen with a secondary project. I should reach this goal by November too.

I don't believe you have to do things every day, of course, but I do believe a routine is very important. You just have to find what works for you and stick with it.

Do you have a writing routine?

Read Reborn from the beginning or Chapter Thirty.

 

Each month, T.B. Markinson plans to give away awesome books by wonderful authors and a $5 Amazon Gift Card. It’s her way of saying thank you to all her followers and fans. Some may wonder why she is giving books away that aren’t hers. The answer is simple: She loves to read and she loves to help fellow authors promote their books. The giveaway is easy to enter via Rafflecopter. At the end of the month, one winner will be selected randomly and will receive an e-book copy of all the books below plus a $5 Amazon Gift Card. Good luck! Here are the incredible books for August’s Giveaway. My novel Reborn is one of the awesome books in this month's giveaway!

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Wednesday's Writing Update: August Goals / Smashwords July Sale / Untethered Realms Giveaway

Happy Wednesday! And although you don't know them, a very happy birthday to my dad and anniversary to my mom and dad!

July has been a busy month. I'm making slow progress with Remarked, which I hope to finish by the end of August, and I've been editing the short stories in the forthcoming People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors as well as re-editing/reformatting my A to Z Flashes of Foxwick. I'm also getting close to finishing my outline for Reforged.

Here are my goals for August:

• Edit one short story a week in People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors. I've been working on these stories, and I hope to finish my final edits by mid-September.
• Write/Edit Remarked. I've been writing by hand the first draft of Remarked, which I still hope to finish by mid-August. Then, I'll be typing up the draft and doing an edit on it, so I can send this novella to my alpha readers in September.
• Write in Reforged. I'd like to start writing Reforged, the second book in The Fate Challenges series.

And that's it. There's a lot to do, but I hope to continue making progress.

Also you will notice a slight change in my words written. Since I am writing by hand new drafts, I'm guessing on the word count. I'll update the official word count when I have the second draft typed up.

What are your August goals?

2014 Stats

32,843 + 1900 Words Written

1766 Pages Edited

*Stats taken from 1/1/2014-7/22/2014*

Smashwords is having its annual Summer/Winter sale. You can purchase Reborn, Gravity: The Complete Trilogy, and The Nightmare Collection for 50% off their retail prices with coupon code SSW50. The sale ends July 31st.

We authors of Untethered Realms are celebrating reaching 100 GFC followers on our blog by having a grand prize giveaway of several of our ebooks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IWSG: Ransonware and Backing Up Your Work / Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Chapter Four / Smashwords July Sale

It's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find out the other members of the group here. A special thanks to July's co-hosts: Krista McLaughlin, Kim Van Sickler, Heather Gardner, and Hart Johnson! 

On June 5th, a writer's worst fear happened to me.

It started out a normal day. I came in, started my work computer, did a bit of work, and then finished my work emails. I had an email from someone in the building about a fax. Thinking that perhaps a fax had come there instead of the library, I clicked on the Dropbox link.

A little later, I opened up my writing folder on my USB drive. Some strange files were showing up in it. I clicked one of my blog tour files.

Nothing.

I clicked on the strange file that had shown up.

I thought I was going to be sick.

I was struck my ransonware. RSA-2048 to be exact. Basically, I had so much time to pay the ransomers for the decryption codes or my files would remain encrypted forever. I started researching rapidly for a solution. Almost every single .doc, .pdf, and .jpeg were affected in my writing folder. I found a way to get rid of the malware, but my files will remain encrypted until someone comes up with a decryption code.

Worst of all, it had been awhile since I'd backed up my work. Like months on one flash drive and a year or more for the other. *gulps*

Taking stock of what I still had, I realized I had lost my newest outline of Reforged, my outlines for Repledged, Remarked, and Redestined, and the first three chapters of Remarked and the first two chapters of Repledged. I'm sure there are other things I'll miss, but those are the worst of what happened.

So I feel lucky. I maybe lost 20,000 words or so of work and a few pictures I'll have to recreate. I've lost time. But I didn't lose anything I couldn't redo. I lucked out.

I'm now backing up my work in multiple places. Every. Single. Day.

It sucks, but we persevere. And I know what I recreate will be even better than the original.

Have you backed up your files today?

Today's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's time to put up another chapter of Reborn on Wattpad. You can click here to start at the beginning or click here for Chapter Four.

By the way, I'm off work for the rest of the week, so I apologize that I'll be slow in commenting back. Have a good Independence Day to those in the States.

Smashwords is having its annual Summer/Winter sale. You can purchase Reborn, Gravity: The Complete Trilogy, and The Nightmare Collection for 50% off their retail prices with coupon code SSW50. The sale ends July 31st.

IWSG and Indie Life: 2014 Goals / I've Been Interviewed

 

Even though it's the second Wednesday of the month, it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find out the other members of the group here.

Happy New Year!

I still can't believe how fast 2013 left us, but here's to a new year and many new goals!

What I want to write this year:

• Write Reigned, a prequel novel to The Fate Challenges trilogy (YA Epic Fantasy).
• Write Reforged, Book Two of The Fate Challenges (YA Epic Fantasy).
• Write part of Redestined, Book Three of The Fate Challenges (YA Epic Fantasy).
• Write Loveless, Book One of Less Than Princess Perfect (NA Epic Fantasy).

What I want to publish this year:

• Neighbors of Foxwick, short story collection #3 in The Foxwick Chronicles (February 2014)
• Reborn, Book One of The Fate Challenges (May 23, 2014)
• People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors, the complete short story collection of The Foxwick Chronicles (Fall 2014)

What are your 2014 goals? Does a new year bring new insecurities?

I also have my totals for 2013. I wrote 185,912 words and edited 2767 pages.

This post is also brought to you by Indie Life. What is Indie Life? How: Sign up on the Linky at the bottom of this page here. When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month. What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie. Grab: The banner above to include in your posts! And sign up for the Indie Life newsletter here.

Be sure to follow the other Indie Lifers: 

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The lovely and talented Emilyann Girdner has interviewed on her blog today! Read what I think about having my writing critiqued as well as what I think is the funniest thing ever imagined.

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Be sure to stop by tomorrow (Thursday). Alana Garrigues has a special post about Story Sprouts and inviting the whimsical into your story.

Writing Update: January Goals/New Blogging Schedule/Blogging Vacation

 

Happy Wednesday!

Can you believe the year is almost over? I sure can't! Where did 2013 go?

This month I've been busy editing in Reborn. I swear I'm one of the slowest self-editors out there. I was hoping to take some time during my work vacation to relax, but I might have to work on some outlines and the like during my vacation. *sighs*

Here are my January goals:

• Final Edit of Reborn. I should get Reborn back from my beta readers after New Year's, so I'll be ready to do my final edit. Yes, this debut novel stuff is getting very real. Of course, it'll still have to go through the proofreader, several proofreads by me, formatting, and then publishing by May.
• Fix Part I of Reforged. I originally was going to work on Reigned, but I changed my mind. I'd rather work on book two of The Fate Challenges as I'm finishing up book one. Then, I can go back to Reigned and write Redestined after that, or vice versa.
• Finalize my outline for Redestined. Once I have the outlines the way I want them, then I can start exciting things like drawing the map of the Kingdom of Amora and writing books two and three of The Fate Challenges.
• Final edit and proofread Neighbors of Foxwick. In January, it'll be time to edit and proofread Neighbors of Foxwick, so I can start formatting and publishing this last short story collection in The Foxwick Chronicles. I do plan to combine Women of Foxwick, Men of Foxwick, and Neighbors of Foxwick in one collection (print/ebook) in Fall 2014, so if you'd rather wait for the entire collection, I'm cool with that. I just wanted to offer the other for those who have already picked up the first one or two in the series.

And those are my January goals. Since I'm gearing up to publish novels in 2014, I've decided I need to cut back a bit on blogging. If you pop over to Surrounded by Books Reviews, you'll see the sad news that I'm dropping that blog. I will still be doing reviews, but I will post them on my Bookworm News feature (besides Goodreads/Amazon). I am keeping the blog up, so people can find my old reviews there.

As for this blog, I'm dropping my schedule to posting one day a week: Wednesdays. Posting 4-5 times a month instead of 16+ will help me out a lot. I will have the occasional extra post, but I'll announce that before it happens. For a look at my 2014 blogging schedule, click here. With less posting spaces, I've also posted a page of Guest Post Guidelines. You can click here to view them. Of course, all of this is subject to change, but we'll see how it goes.

With the new year, I will soon be raising a few of my ebook prices in January, so if you've considered buying something, now is the time to do it. I'm taking Once Upon a December Nightmare off free. Gravity: The Complete Trilogy will go up from $2.99 to $3.99. Fighting Gravity will jump up to $1.99 and Pull of Gravity will be $2.99. That's all I plan to change right now, and theses changes won't happen until after the new year.

Also, today's my last post until IWSG and Indie Life's posts on January 8, 2014. Since I'm away from the day job and the good internet, it's just easier to not post during my vacation. I hope everyone has a fantastic holidays! See you in the new year!

2013 Stats

2276 Pages Edited

180,405 Words Written

*Stats taken from 1/1/2013 - 12/17/2013*

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Taking the World by Storm Question Answered and My Writing Update: My Crazy Muse

I asked Alex, "What technology/abilities in your books would you like to see scientists discover and why?"

Alex said, "TELEPORTATION!!!!! I hate the commute to work and long days of travel. We need teleportation so we can avoid all that hassle. I just wouldn’t want to turn into a fly…"

Teleportation. Let's make it happen, people!

CassaStorm

By Alex J Cavanaugh

From the Amazon Best Selling Series!

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. 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, 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 return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

“Cavanaugh has created wonderfully moving moments of great poignancy… CassaStorm could have been a dark story full of hardship and angst, but instead it's a cleverly balanced story about hope and triumph.”
- Lynda R. Young, author of Make Believe

"Cavanaugh makes world building on the galactic scale look easy. The stakes affect the entire known universe and yet Cavanaugh makes it intensely personal for our hero. The final installment of this series will break your heart and put it back together."
- Charity Bradford, science fantasy author of The Magic Wakes

Find CassaStorm: Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Amazon Kindle

 

Book trailer

$16.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Science fiction/adventure and science fiction/space opera

Print ISBN 9781939844002 eBook ISBN 9781939844019

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

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Happy Wednesday!

First off, I wish to thank everyone for tweeting and posting messages on Facebook about The Nightmare Collection! Writers4Writers is definitely awesome! Keep up the great work, everyone!

As for my writing update, I got off to a slow start this month, but I'm picking up speed. I've been figuring out my map of Foxwick and its surrounding neighbors and hope to start drawing it this weekend. This week I'm working on "Mourner's Lament," and I might go ahead and start the other two short stories in Neighbors of Foxwick if I have time.

Unfortunately, my muse has been chucking ideas at me like crazy. My muse often acts up when I'm doing something hard. It tries to distract me. *sighs* Some days it's working too.

I originally planned to write The Loveless Princess after I finished with Reforged, but now I have an idea for not one tragic princess short novel but three: Loveless, Beautyless, and Dreamless. I was thinking of calling the series The Tragic Princesses. Not a very unique series title (I may come up with something better later on), but the stories have some twists of old fairy tales and would be set within my Foxwick world. Of course, if I keep up with the idea, then I'll need to put off writing The Loveless Princess, or now Loveless. I like to have first drafts written of all three before I publish the first one, especially if the second and third novels (featuring different MCs) don't work out.

Okay, so if I choose to put off writing Loveless, then what should be my fourth publication next year? Yes, my muse spoke up and has been telling me Reza's story. Reza is one of the queens of Amora (the world from The Fate Challenges but set 500 years before). She and the Phoenix Prophetess Brinlynn have quite a few challenges ahead of them. Brinlynn and Reza are both mentioned in Reborn too. The novel title will be Reigned, and I know it's a standalone book. It could fill the fourth slot in my publication schedule for 2014. That way I would have two Foxwick-related stories and two Amora-related stories out next year. I do like that idea.

And if that wasn't enough, I now have an idea for a serial futuristic sci-fi/dystopian story as a retelling of Homer's The Iliad. The serial would be in six parts (most likely), and right now the series title is The H.E.L.E.N. Wars. H.E.L.E.N. stands for "High Efficiency Level Electricity Network" or something like that. The idea is still in its infancy. My muse says it would be great for a 2015 publication slot, but we'll see if the idea pans out.

I keep telling my muse to be quiet for a little bit. After all, I have editing to do and stories to write. Has your muse ever gone on the fritz?

IWSG: Intimidated

 

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so you know what that means ... it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find out the other members of the group here.

Congrats to IWSG being two years old!

In July, I sought out a cover artist for People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors as well as for The Fate Challenges trilogy. I really only had one artist in mind, and I was so excited that she agreed to work with me. At the time I thought People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors would come out first, so we decided we would work on the cover art for it and put off the cover art for Reborn.

I told her my thoughts on what I would like to see on the cover. She did a few sketches, and we decided on a pose for the character. Then, she was off creating the cover art. I have to admit I was impressed even with the sketches, but the final cover art was AMAZING. Seriously. I have it as my computer wallpaper at work. I just like to stare at it. It's hang up on your wall good.

Of course, I already knew she was an amazing cover artist. Her name is Laura Sava, and you can see her work on deviantART.

But now I have this brilliant cover for my complete Foxwick stories collection and it completely intimidated me. How could my simple fantasy stories live up to this cover art? I'll admit my writing trickled to a halt. It took me three weeks to rewrite "Dragon's Sacrifice" (a 2500-word short story) because I just couldn't get my mind to stop thinking about the awesome cover art and how my stories just wouldn't be good enough.

Then, I realized that my first drafts don't have to be as brilliant as the cover art. I just needed to write and worry about greatness in edits.

The cover art is still amazing, and I plan to reveal it sometime next year (closer to the new release for People of Foxwick). It's okay to be intimidated, to want to write something brilliant. I needed a writing break, and now I'm back to writing.

I'm holding off on us starting the cover art for Reborn, though, until after I finish my edit before my beta readers get a hold of it. *laughs*

Has your cover art ever intimidated you? Or has something else held you back from your writing? How did you get over it?