New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

"Is that what's …" M'kar nodded at the box clutched in the crook of her arm.

"Egg."

"An egg. A dragon egg."

"Dracs. Figured, we discovered them, discovered their world. We get to name them."

"True."

"They're intelligent. They teleport. Thyal needs one."

If I use my invalid status as an excuse to be greedy and tell you to hurry, Thyal began.

Shut up. I'm thinking.

Laughter tickled through their link.

Raised voices rang off the walls of the docking arm. Dulit looked past her and he groaned.

"You need to get out now." Poki, go home.

The little drac vanished with a sub-audible pop.

"You owe me." So help me, I want one, too.

He did say he had a ship full of babies, so maybe a ship full of eggs?

"Add it to my tab." Dulit held out his hand, palm up. "Be safe, hearth-sister. Give my best to Thyal."

"Be safe yourself. Tell your captain to hurry. I'll wait for you on Le'anka." She grasped his wrist as his fingers grasped hers and they shook twice before releasing.

Off the Bookshelf: POSEIDON'S ACADEMY, by Sarah Vogler

In this fantasy world and adventure series, the Greek gods were destroyed when mortals rebelled. Their powers remained, however, and were spread throughout the world, so mortals have them now. They are labeled according to the god who had them first: Poseidons, Demeters, Sirens, etc.

Of course, there's a prophecy that they will return ...

Hailey and her friends manage to get accepted at Poseidon's Academy, an underwater school built in Poseidon's palace. For Hailey, the big attraction is that she'll be cut off from the sky, because that is the source of her power. Hailey is a Zeus, and she doesn't like being a Zeus -- and not just because the prophecy seems to expect her to mess up and bring back the gods.

Not all the mythological creatures are dead and gone, and some of them want to bring back the gods.  When some of the students break rules and go out of bounds, they run into those creatures. Hailey and her friends come close to getting expelled a few times. Then there are problems they have to deal with, coming from some of the "mean girls" at school -- who happen to have the powers of Aphrodite and the Sirens, for instance.

I'm reminded of the statement in The Incredibles: "When everyone is super, then nobody will be." That's not exactly how it works out here, but there are drawbacks to everyone having some kind of talent, with all the accompanying in-fighting and jealousy. Some powers are still better than others, and some people should never be given powers. Hailey and her friends survive their first year at Poseidon's Academy. I can only imagine what problems they'll have to deal with in their second year.

The Adventure: WHY PRINTWORTHY PROOFREADING?

Why Printworthy Proofreading?

Writing is both an art and a science. Creatively crafting words paints a vivid image and communicates a clear, concise message. But there are rules and guidelines that must be followed to be effective. If one aspect of the art or science is weak, it detracts from the other aspect. Conversely, when these two aspects of art and science work together in harmony, written text has the greatest potential to attain the desired result.

Printworthy Proofreading exists to help you be a more effective communicator. You desire to take your audience (the reader) on a journey through a story or to inform them of a timeless truth that has the potential to lead to transformation. Our goal is to ensure that that message shines its brightest. While honoring your voice and respecting your artistic expression, Printworthy Proofreading can assist in making sure the rules of grammar and syntax are followed appropriately. In the process, credibility is maintained, and potential distractions are removed to facilitate clarity.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe that everything that we say and do can and should reflect Him. I

have dedicated my life to serving Him by serving those around me as a wife, a mom (who also homeschools our sons), and as a missionary in South America. In my twenty-five-plus years of experience, I have become proficient in time management, grown in my appreciation for culture, taught and coached advanced subjects that I never took as a student, and found that my greatest joy comes from helping others accomplish their goals. I strive for excellence in all areas of life and would be honored to assist you in achieving excellence with your written words. You may learn more at www.printworthyproofreading.com.

Mindi Stearns

The Adventure: WHO NEEDS A PROOFREADER?

Who Needs a Proofreader?

Have you ever been reading something and noticed a misspelled word or incorrect punctuation? Did noticing that mistake lead you down a rabbit trail that had nothing to do with what you were reading? Or maybe, like me, the error makes you wonder if the author really knows his stuff and has the credibility you expected. Words matter. How words are written matter too. Anyone that writes content that others read can benefit from a proofreading service.

If you have ever tried to proofread your own writing, you know that it is extremely difficult. You tend to read what you hope to communicate, not necessary the words on the page before you. Even after walking away and coming back to your text, it is so hard to objectively review your own writing. “Humble pie” is not very tasty but I have gotten fat from it by the number of times I have sent a letter or important document to someone and realized just after sending it that it contained a typo. A moment of panic sets in as I wonder if my error will hamper the opportunity to establish a relationship or gain a future client. The consequences are not always detrimental, but they certainly have the potential to be, depending on the context.

Countless sectors can benefit from a proofreading service.

• ·        Publishers ensuring that the final product is polished before going to press
• ·        Human Resource professionals responsible for employee manuals and newsletters
• ·        Freelance Authors wanting to sell their work
• ·        Website Content Managers promoting a business or products
• ·        Teachers and Professors crafting their content
• ·        Marketing and Ad Campaigns seeking to drive sales
• ·        Curriculum Providers educating on a broad scale
• ·        Administrative Professionals writing policies and correspondence
• ·        Students submitting essays and term papers

The list is endless. So much of what we read today comes in the form of electronic content. Has the quality of that content been compromised due to the sense of it being “disposable” or fluid? After all, it is not set in print and can easily be changed. Nonetheless, quality should not and must not be compromised. Maintaining high standards by adhering to well established writing guidelines is worth it.

This is precisely why Printworthy Proofreading exists. We would like to ensure that when you make your written content available for others to read, your writing is free of grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors. Your message is conveyed with confidence when your text maintains a standard of excellence. We would like to help you attain that excellence!

Let’s get connected at www.printworthyproofreading.com.

New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

"So help me, Dulit, if you don't start talking straight --" M'kar reached for her knife. Not her everyday, utilitarian knife. This one was ceremonial, the blade was dull compared to the sharpness required by ritual and her noble blood. Of course, Dulit and any indiferps she might run into on the station wouldn't know the blade was safety-bonded per station regulations. Even dressed in ready-for-trouble civilian garb, she needed a knife, just to feel fully dressed. She would have to press hard and put some muscle into any effort if she wanted to slice anyone open.

Again, Dulit didn't know that.

Something is coming, Thyal said.

M'kar ducked as a swirl of cream and lavender hide and talons spun around her head, chattering at nearly sonic levels.

"Poki!" Dulit snatched the double handful of fury out of the air and clutched it to his chest. "She thinks you were going to hurt me."

"I was considering it." M'kar clutched her knife.

The little dragon Dulit had shoved halfway inside his jacket glared at her. An image passed between their minds. M'kar drew her knife. The cream-and-lavendar little menace bit her hand.

We're friends, little cousin. Dulit and me. Friends argue. They tease, M'kar offered.

That's right. Dulit grinned crookedly and stroked from the wedge-shaped head, down the long, supple neck. Well, that proves something. Despite how intelligent it seems, it's entirely beastly, otherwise we couldn't talk through it. Come out and make friends, Poki.

Ready for a PARTY? It's Book Launch Party Time!

Ready for a PARTY?

Book Launch Party, July 1.

Come learn about the weird, magical little town of Neighborlee, Ohio.

Meet the crew of the AFV Defender.

Win print books.
Get free short stories.
Chat.
Play games.
Learn how you can win FUTURE free books.
Goodies galore!!!!

It's gonna be FUN!

But not without YOU ......

Here's the link. Please come!
You need to register so you can join, and get updates until then .....

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1436254603241495/

New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

"Tell me," M'kar said. "I won't take anything that might endanger the crew. We have children on board."

"Look at it my way, we have babies on my ship. The hope of an entire race. Enlo help us, my captain says we have to go back. I keep arguing we should head straight to the Academy, not take any chances. He says we have a greater responsibility to go back and find out if any survived. If we managed to drag the monsters with us and lost them. Or worse, the monsters are still there, killing everything that's left."

He tossed the data wafer to her. M'kar clutched the box against her chest while reaching with her free hand. The wafer bounced on her palm before she caught it.

"Babies. Some haven't been born yet. In stasis. Like that should be." He waved his hand at the ti box. "M'kar, I swear on the infrenx. I don't care if I get shot out the repulsion tubes for this, Thyal is more important. Once you look at the data and you untangle it, you'll agree."

Remember, he was always the one who kept the rest of us out of mischief.

M'kar flinched, hearing the smooth baritone voice in her head. She glanced at Dulit, but he didn't seem to hear.

No, he can't hear me. I've been trying. I'm only linked with you. Thyal, their classmate left on Le'anka, chuckled softly.

All right, she shot back, so he isn't reacting to any pressure. Not that you would ever pressure anyone to do anything unethical.

Your faith in me is most gratifying.

At least give me a little warning when you initiate contact? She bit her lip to keep a straight face. Now was not the time to explain to Dulit that she could hear Thyal in her mind. It went beyond everything even the Premier Masters on Le'anka understood about mind-touch.

Off the Bookshelf: DRAGON PLANET, by Dan Wells

Audiobook
Audible Original

Sequel to ZERO G

Another radio drama/dramatized novella.

Did I mention last time that Dan Wells is a member of the Writing Excuses podcast team? I really enjoy SEEING what writing teachers produce, practicing what they preach. And yeah, it's a fun story!

At the end of ZERO G, Zero and Nyx awakened to find out their ship had arrived at the colony world, and the governor was thanking them for intervening when pirates tried to commandeer the ship, all its colonization equipment, and take the colonists as slaves.

Now, it's time to get out there and explore their new world.

Only not so fast ... the gravity is 1/6 of Earth's, the atmosphere is breathable, but not for long, and some severe windstorms are bearing down on them. With air that's thick and heavy, a wind storm is dangerous. Plus there's a problem of missing, vital equipment.

Zero and Nyx decide to investigate. They bested a crew of pirates, after all. But this time they might be in over their heads, as an accidental confrontation with the thieves leads to them being thrown out across a hostile landscape like Dorothy -- but this new planet is far more dangerous than Oz. Instead of a wicked witch, they have alien creatures, especially dragons, and thieves who have everything to lose if the two friends manage to tell the authorities what they're doing.

More, please?

The Adventure: SO WHAZZUP?

Today I'm blessed to be a guest on JPC Allen's blog, talking about fandom as a great foundation for learning to write.

Check it out:
https://jpcallenwrites.com/2020/06/18/the-fandom-method-of-worldbuilding/



WANNA COME TO A PARTY?

I'm having a BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

July 1, hosted by the intrepid Tamera Lynn Kraft, who hosts those wonderful Booklover parties on Facebook.

We're still nailing down the details, so check back here for the specific address and time.

I'm "officially" launching TWO books that day, so your chances are doubled to get a free print copy of either SEMI-PSEUDO-SUPERHEROES, Book 2 in the Neighborlee, Ohio series.
OR
FRIENDLY FIRE, the first book in the AFV Defender series (blatantly an homage to Trek, and firmly rooted in the wonderful, crazy time I spent with the USS Defiance crew, Trekkers extraordinaire, in Sacramento).

Heads up, gang: I will give you a link to the page where you can get a FREE Kindle download of CONFESSIONS OF A LOST KID, Book 1 in the Neighborlee, Ohio series.

But you have to come to the party to get it!

New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

Then M'kar caught her breath and she knew. She held out her tattooed hand.

"Exactly," Dulit whispered. He tugged down his collar, to reveal his matching tattoo, the flaming wings spread to embrace the dip in his collar bone.

"You found …"

"Not exactly, but it has to be close. Do you remember that incredible smell?" His throat worked.

M'kar nodded. After their battle two years ago, her nostrils had been scorched so she couldn't smell anything for nearly a lun. She had been grateful. The overbearing sweetness in the air from the monstrosity they had fought would never fade from her memory.

"Well, I ran into it again. What we found … makes it run away." He let out a snort. "Fly away, anyway."

"Garion." M'kar took a step closer.

He reached into his belt pouch to extract a data wafer. The other hand he brought from behind his back. It held a ti box, the wrapper faded but still clearly proclaiming it the genuine ti grown on Le'anka for purifying the blood, stimulating the mind, and calming the nervous system. With a delicate flavor and aroma that didn't need enhancing with sweeteners.

M'kar doubted the box held ti, either pressed in blocks or loose leaf. Whatever it held would fill both her cupped hands.

"As soon as you're back on your ship, put the box in stasis. All the others are in stasis. Best thing we could think of. The last thing we need is to double the ship's population."

"Of what?" A gentle brush of her mind didn’t reveal anything alive in the box. However, she had been wrong before. Being one of the strongest animal-oriented psionic Talents ever trained at the Academy didn't preclude mistakes or limits. She simply hadn't found the wall hard enough and thick enough to make her brain bounce around like an old-fashioned rubber ball.

That battle that had scarred their hearts, minds, and bodies had come close, though. She had slammed against something out of legend, terror-become-flesh. Her brain hadn't bounced that time.

New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

"Wait a moment. I'm lost." Wexel shook his head, as if he was trying to knock it back into synch with the conversation. "I saw the mechanical hooples. Those are bad enough." He shuddered, indicating he was among Cynes' latest victims. "Are you saying the live versions are on my station too?"

"He shouldn’t be making the robot hooples." Genys wanted to curl up and cry. "We erased all his files and took all the prototypes and locked up the psychotic programmer working with him." The last encounter her ship had with Cynes and his hooples had been bad enough. Robotic and organic hooples, on one station?

Please, Enlo, hasn't my crew been through enough already? It's bad enough we're the Nanny Ship now. Why Cynes on top of it?

"Still making the robots," Decker said on a growl. "Even more addicting than the farting furballs."

"How exactly do they work?" Wexel glared at Cynes. "The results, I already know. How do they work, and how do we stop them?"

"They generate a frequency and a light show, in the ranges that Human eyes and ears can’t consciously register. It creates an addiction in the brain. You feel great, but you want to spend all your time playing with it."

"The newest version of subliminal programming." One of the civilians held out a ball of neon yellow fur, with four sets of oversized mosquito wings and eight pairs of legs. Genys itched just looking at it. "We were just realizing what was happening to us when we saw your crew chasing him. Captain, do you know how to set us free?"

"Is it turned off?" She didn't care that she was sweating. Her face felt cold enough, she had probably gone white.

"Still looking for the data access code, but we've got one of Dr. Tahl's maskers running," Decker said.

"Bless you." If she didn't think he would live up to his name with a good right hook, Genys might have kissed him.

Update: GOALS

The plan is to check in every Sunday and tally up what I've accomplished, and add any new goals to the list. (Feel free to jeer if I don't get at least half this list done this month!)

JUNE GOALS LIST as of 06/07/20:

YOUNG DEFENDERS BOOK 1:  1st draft
Started draft 1

Tweak 4 published Commonwealth Universe novels
Done -- Gemar, Scouts

1st draft of Making It All Up, Match Girls #2

Format and upload another Neighborlee book to KDP

Put together my online lesson for ACFW in July.

Revise and format and upload 2 short stories to D2D for sale.
Done: Neighborlee Sampler,

Off the Bookshelf: THE FLYING FLAMINGO SISTERS, by Carrie Seim

Audio book
Audible Original

Radio drama

What FUN!

The story of the plucky Flamingo sisters is done as an old-time radio drama, with suspenseful music and sound effects, nefarious villains of the mustache-twirling sort, and over-the-top dialog and wordplay.

Everybody's name in the Flamingo family starts with F -- including the dog.  Everybody in the family flies, or contributes to flight. When the girls' parents disappear in a air race, their evil uncle shows up to take over the family home, throw the girls into an orphanage, and search for a map to the family fortune, which can only be discovered once every hundred years.

Of course our girls take off in their plane to search for their parents, facing obstacles with determination and humor and a little sibling bickering.

Far, far too short a story -- and I really hope that the ending, which invites readers to return to hear what happens next with Fae, Frannie and Flo, their dog Fritz, and their evil uncle Frederick, really DOES mean there will be another installment.

The Adventure: YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN (but that doesn't mean it won't HURT!)

Right now I'm at the end of Week 2 of the Book Launch Blueprint, taught by Thomas Umstattd Jr., Jim Rubart, and Mary Demuth.

Maybe you've heard me screaming a few times over the last two weeks, late at night, asking the Universe: WHY did I think I could write a new book, handle the day job of freelance editing and take this course all at the same time?

It's a fascinating course, on all the things a writer needs to do to prepare for a book launch. All the options and resources and tools to use to get the word out, to get visible, to get people talking.

Things I should have figured out and should have been doing years ago.

Big confession time: I'm a CAVE TROLL. I long for the "good old days" when writers sat in their garrets or dungeons and did nothing but write, and left the promotion, the advertising, to their publishers. *sigh*

NO MORE!

Did I say fascinating? Yes, but terrifying and frustrating. I'm constantly having to shut up the troll at the back of my head that keeps whining, "But I don't WANNA! It's SCAREY! I don't have TIME!"

On the plus side, I figured out a few "Well DUH!" things, like I need to have my biography and a press kit of sorts posted on my blog and my website, in case readers want to learn about me, and not just my books. I need to make it possible for readers who visit my site and check out my books to BUY IMMEDIATELY -- meaning set up buy links they can click on, right then and there. I'm set up for that now, but it's gonna take time to get the coding for all those links.

Because if you haven't looked lately, honey ... I got a TON of books out there.

And nobody is buying them because I don't make it easy, or they just don't know the books are there.

But that's about to change. As soon as I get a couple rush editing jobs done, and finish this course.

Hold me to it!!

Check out the Novel Marketing Podcast, and Author Media, for more information.

New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

Down two more corridors and one more level to reach her destination. Genys held her breath as she stepped into the reception area of Administrator Wexel's office. M'kar was right, they were due for a clash between the Defender’s crew and the local indiferps. She saw no one, not even Wexel's irritatingly efficient and protocol-ruled assistant with a weaselish face. The type of person she expected to find out any day now was actually Gatesh. She was about to approach the closed door of the administrator's office when the door to a conference room on the far side of the reception area slid open.

"Ah, good, thank you for coming so quickly, Captain." Wexel leaned out far enough for his glistening ebony head to be visible. He beckoned and retreated back out of sight.

Genys stepped through the door. Her first glance was enough to estimate thirty people crammed into the conference room. Maybe a dozen were her crew, maybe ten were retrofit and upgrade engineers. The rest looked like civilians, maybe employees of the various restaurants, shops, and services provided by the station. Decker, the Defender's head of security, gestured with a tip of his head as Genys’s second look around the room put names to faces.

"Please --" She stopped short when he stepped aside, revealing a rotund man dressed in a furry tunic and leggings. "Jorono Cynes?"

"No, no, not at all," the little man jabbered in a fruity, mock-aristocratic voice. "Mistaken identity. I swear."

"It's him all right," Wexel said. "Identification verified. We owe your crew for recognizing and apprehending him. They were quite adamant that he had to be stopped and his cargo impounded."

"What is it this time, Cynes? Hooples or cherashires?" Genys wondered if someone had put Gatesh Green in her spicewater, and she was hallucinating all this.

Please, Enlo, let this be a hallucination?

New Release Sample: FRIENDLY FIRE

Published by Ye Olde Dragon Books

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Available now in print and Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

Every Gleaner in Friggley's took two steps from Genys’ Nisandrian half-blood Chief of Talents. Nothing more frightening than a Nisandrian with her hands out of sight. There was no way to predict what weapons she might draw from seemingly thin air. Legends said they had mastered N-space and could drag enough weapons along behind them, just slightly out of dimensional phase, to destroy a planet. Other legends claimed they could hide weapons inside body cavities. Genys always squirmed a little when she thought of that. M'kar never confirmed or denied those stories. Granted, no one had ever dared ask outright, but shouldn't her commanding officer have the right to know?

Bottom line: Nisandrians were always ready to fight. No need for provocation. Nisandrians liked fights even more than Gleaners liked pilfering anything and everything in sight.

One of these days, Genys vowed to learn how M'kar managed to enter a room without being seen. It was like she slit the fabric of space-time to just appear, when and where she was needed. According to the records of her training on Le'anka, M'kar didn't have teleportation among her psionic gifts. So how did she do it?

"What's it to ya?" the Gleaner captain said, his voice softening and rising another half-octave, while taking another step back.

Genys could almost call him a smart man.

"Just wondering if you're the Gleaner doing the pilfering, out on Dock Seven, or the one being pilfered, that's all. Nice big hole blasted right next to a cargo hatch. Don't your people know how to knock? Or maybe they forgot the security code to get in?" M'kar raised her voice to be heard over the curses and yells. The Gleaner captain and eight filthy, garishly ornamented crewmen scrambled to exit through a door only wide enough for two.

Update: GOALS

(The plan is to check in every Sunday and tally up what I've accomplished, and add any new goals to the list. Feel free to jeer if I don't get at least half this list done this month!)

JUNE GOALS LIST as of 06/07/20:

YOUNG DEFENDERS BOOK 1:  1st draft
Started draft 1

Tweak 4 published Commonwealth Universe novels
Done -- Gemar

1st draft of Making It All Up, Match Girls #2

Format and upload another Neighborlee book to KDP

Put together my online lesson for ACFW in July.

Revise and format and upload 2 short stories to D2D for sale.

Off the Bookshelf: THE TAIL OF EMILY WINDSNAP, by Liz Kessler

Actually, this ebook had SIX stories about young mermaid Emily Windsnap.

The Tail of Emily Windsnap
Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep
Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist
Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret
Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun
Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls

Fun! I picked up the book in my quest to get a sampling of middle grade stories so I could start out right, planning and writing my own hopeful middle grade SF series, Young Defenders, to tie into my AFV Defender series (book 1 just released this week -- shameless self-promotion!)

When the series starts out, Emily is anticipating middle school and finally learning how to swim. She and her mother live on a boat, but her mother won't let her go swimming, as she's afraid of the water. This makes no sense to Emily. There is a downside to starting a new school, because her nemesis from the harbor community will also be there, and Mandy is a bully. But then Emily jumps into the water and for a minute or two it's wonderful -- until her legs get heavy and she has other strange sensations. Determined to figure out what's going on, Emily goes swimming at night, when no one can see -- and transforms to a mermaid for the first time!

Our plucky young heroine goes through quite a few adventures and gets herself into and out of trouble again and again. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her, because seriously? Why does she keep doing what she knows she shouldn't? Why does she keep taking chances and hacking off Neptune?

The struggle and multiple moments of, "Oh, no, don't do that!" pay off in the end. Fun for mermaid enthusiasts, young and old.

HELP WANTED: Book Launch Team Members!

I've got a busy schedule for the next YEAR (or two or three ...) with a new book coming out, or a revised book re-releasing, EVERY OTHER MONTH.

Want to be part of that?

Want to get the inside scoop on upcoming books?

Want to get Advance Review Copies of coming books?

Want a chance to be the first to post reviews?

Want a chance for fun thank-you gifts and members-only online gatherings, where we can chat and you can make suggestions for stories about favorite characters, or ask questions about people you haven't seen in stories for a while, or even make requests? 

Here's what we're doing: 
From now until the middle of 2022 (well, that's what happens when you are revising and re-releasing and writing 5 new books, for a total of 13 books, every other month!) I will be releasing a new or revised Neighborlee, Ohio fantasy novel.

I need YOU to be my launch team, my street team, to get the word out there and help the world know there's a fun, freaky little town where magic tries to seep through into our world -- where outsiders don't notice anything, but for residents it's, "Ho, hum, so what else is new?"

That's NEIGHBORLEE, OHIO.

Email me and sign up to join the team.
Please?
MichelleLevigne @ gmail.com

The Adventure: Life is What Happens (and gets in the way) When You Make Big Plans

Sorry, gang ...
You're stuck with me today because no fellow writers have sent me anything for this week.
So what do we chat about?

Okay, how about setting GOALS ....

... and what happens when you do set goals, and the universe seems to conspire to make sure you do everything BUT what you wanted to do, and stop you from accomplishing what you not only WANT, but NEED to accomplish by a certain point?

For instance: I wanted to do a first draft of a middle grade science fiction book by the end of May, because I want to pitch it at a writing conference in July. Barely got 5,000 words written by Sunday. So I'm hoping to get the first draft done by the 10th of this month, because I want to rough draft the next book in the Match Girls series by the end of the month. Rough drafts can be skimpy and pitiful, because the important thing is to get SOMETHING down on the page. Then I can go back and fix and fill in holes. You can't fix a blank page.

But I signed up for the Book Launch Blueprint course from Author Media/Novel Marketing Podcast, hosted by Thomas Umstadtt and James Rubart and ... WHEW! A lesson to listen to every day, plus homework, plus conversations with other students on the Facebook page. Homework? At MY age?

Okay, not so bad, I can still write and do lessons ... except that the "day job" threw a humongous editing job at me, a RUSH job, which means I spend 2 hours on my class every day, and try to spend 2 hours on writing every day (would prefer 4), and the rest of my day is spent editing, so I feel like I'm getting nothing done. Exercise. Errands. Housecleaning. Social life. (I know what that is in theory, anyway ... not so much in practice ...)

But I've made commitments -- to the nice publishers who give me work, to my teachers and classmates, to the publisher I want to sell to, and to my readers, who are waiting (I hope) for the next book in my snarky/humorous romance series.

So I try to get something done on ALL my obligations every day. Even if I'm not reaching my goals, I'm getting SOMETHING done, and eventually, after a lot of struggle, I will accomplish something and mark SOMETHING done on my goals list.

That's what it means to be a writer.
And yeah, that's what it means to be a grown-up.
That's the Adventure of .... life in general.
Depressed yet?