Insecure Writer’s Group: Worry

Can you believe its another first Wednesday of another month? Holy Schmoly! We’re barreling right into fall. Where did the summer go?

Anyway, the first Wednesday of the month is Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer’s Group where we writer’s help lift each others’ pens and fingers up so we can continue to write our little hearts out. And where we give huggy-hugs and encouragement to one another when one of us is feeling a little off kilter about our writing abilities.

And today I’m feeling a little off. I’m overwhelmed to be honest. Secondhand Shoes will be out real soon and I worry about the small list of things yet to do.

Right now I’m working on finishing the proofread. But I have yet to perfect the blurb. I think I’m about there. And I have to write a dedication, a memoriam, and acknowledgment page. When I think about all that still needs to be down I get anxiety and heart palpitations. Writing a novel…just the novel never gives me these irritating feelings. Why does everything else?

Monday, I received my copyright letter. And last week I was freaking out because I couldn’t find my username and password to my Library of Congress account.  Schwoo! Its strange how things work out. I wished I could remember this an not worry, but…

Oh my God, I worry that something will happen to my MS when its transposed into HTML.

I worry that I’m too much of a moron to download it to Amazon and Create Space.

Once its out there, I worry that no one will like it.

I keep telling myself, once I get through each step all will be well.

Hopefully, I won’t get another three day migraine. This past Sunday, one came knocking at my forehead. It made itself all nice and comfy around my right eye, squeezing the sight out of it. Fat ole, mean ole migraine. I spent yesterday nursing my head and eye back to normalcy. This unwelcome visitor-which comes frequently-messes up my to do list big time. That worries me.

Anyway, next Friday, September 12th, I’ll be doing another cover reveal. I’ll be doing two drawings for 10 dollar Amazon cards for those who would like to help with the reveal. If anyone is interested, please say so in the comment boxes.

Also, if anyone is interested in reading a story ARC please say so. I’ll be glad to e-mail one to you.

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E.J. Wesley is having a a Blogfest and Giveaway over at The Open Vein. This will end October 19th.

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Gwen Gardner and Pal are having a Blogtour starting October 8th through the 31st. Anyone interested, PLEASE CLICK HERE

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Misty Provencher is getting ready to release her second book, KeyStone. Go check her out HERE

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So don’t worry all-easier said than done- be happy! And don’t answer the door if Mr. Migraine comes knocking.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

I Got Tagged, and, Mini Book Reviews, Blogtour Announcements, and a Help, Help Me!

 

Holy Schmoly! The weekend is upon us again, and I got tagged by Clay @The Clay Wheel . He was one of few or maybe many who actually finished his Camp NaNo Wri Mo successfully. I actually got to 40 thousand-and-some words before a migraine invited itself into my head the last week. But hey, I got a good working draft out of it.

So since I’ve gotten tagged, which I hate having to deal with I need to harass  find some other willing peeps to participate in this game.

The one good thing about this game, there isn’t any rules. Well, not that I read but then again I’m known to have some major moron moments and miss a lot of important information. But I do have questions to answer.

What is the working title of your book? I’ve got two books. One is finished except for proofreads, formatting, more proofreads, a download to Amazon, and Create Space. That one is Secondhand Shoes. My new project is Dear Mommy.

Where did the idea come from? Both books were inspired by people, places, and things in my life but all my characters’ personalities are on steroids. Other than that, I plead the fifth. People can’t possibly be as dumb or bad like they are in my books. But then again…watch the news.

What genre does your book fall under? Secondhand Shoes is a hybrid of sorts. It falls under paranormal-thriller-action-packed-slapstick-comedy with a touch of romance.

Dear Mommy is a definite thriller with a hint of humor. A guinea pig and some really dumb peeps make it funny and lightens the heavy load in this one.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie? Secondhand Shoes- Lila, it would’ve been Brittany Murphy. Gram..um…Patty Duke or Shirley McClain. Babs. That’s easy. Meryl Streep. Mrs. Butz. That’s easy, too. Jessica Lang. B.J. That’s easy, too. The maturing, Brad Pitt. Max…a younger Sean Penn or a younger Christian Bale (I have a tendency to live in the eighties)-but this book is written from the eighties perspective.

Dear Mommy. Haven’t thought about that yet. I hear mostly voices when I write. Very distinct ones. Later I’ll figure out what those voices look like.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? Oh crap! I hate questions like this. Secondhand Shoes:  Psychic/medium ignores her dead Gram’s advice, gets married, and spends her honeymoon on a deadly run from her groom.

Dear Mommy: Two grandmas embark on a dangerous adventure to save their baby grandson from a drug dealer.

Will your books be self-published or represented by an agency? Secondhand Shoes will be self-published. Dear Mommy. The jury is still out on that one. I’m glad there is more than one possibility.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Secondhand Shoes: 2 years. It took four years total to perfect it afterward.

Dear Mommy: 45 days.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? I’ll plead the fifth again. I already gave enough info away.

What else about your book would pique reader’s interest? I wished I could say because I’m the goddess of writing, and I wrote it. ***grins*** In Secondhand Shoes you’ll watch the main character progress from a mouse to a lion. She wouldn’t be in her situation if one, she would have followed her heart,and two, if she would have spoken her mind to begin with. And how many of us have done this? ***raise my hand***

Dear Mommy- A baby is in danger because of his moronic pill-head parents gnaws at my stomach. How about yours? Will baby C.J. ever be safe? Will his grandmothers be able to save and protect him? And will they be able to get over themselves in the process? One grandma is a Baptist who blames the other for her son’s demise and is fiery. The other one is a hippy who recites positive affirmations and seeks her pendulum for the right thing to do.

Okay. Who am I going to pick to tag? Eanie-meanie-minie-mo. Pick a tiger by its toe. If he hollers, let him go…Um… How about I pick these peeps out next time? I’ve got other things to get to today.

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Mini Book Reviews

She Who Hunts, by C.L. Parks

Snarky chic goes into temporary hiding when creepy-demon-possessed-hubby tries to kill her. Snarky chic is taken under the wing of her soon-to-be-Skinwalking-soul-mate and meets up with long lost family. And she discovers she’s the Dark Slayer from a prophecy. In the meantime, demons are on the lose eating citizens and people close to snarky chic. She gets mad and seeks revenge.

This was a good smooth read except for a few missing words and some spelling mistakes. The storytelling was excellent. I wanted to read more with every coming chapter.

Last year, I gave a this author a bad review on A Repeating Life. She redeemed herself in this one. This book gets Twenty-Five Shelly Stars, a handshake, and a giant bag of chocolates. Redemption is a good thing.

You can find this for your Kindle for 99 cents HERE

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Blood Fugue, by E.J. Wesley

Hooty-hoot-hoot! Loved this one. Read it in about three hours in between heads of hair loppings.

Very snarky, foul mouthed MC gets a strange call from someone. Later on she discovers its her grandfather who she thought was dead. She drags her sidekick to his house to find him in a wheelchair and a half eaten horse. The mystery, what did this? Better yet, who is her grandfather? Lot of great twists with a lot of humor sandwiched between some blood and gore. You won’t want to put this down. Not even to go to the bathroom.

This is a smooth and fast paced read with an excellent twisted plot. Hooty-hoot-hoot! That’s Shelly-language for I really, really, really loved it. I give this one Twenty-Five Shelly Stars, a big hug, and a bite from my most favoritist (it’s a word if I say it is) organic dark chocolate bar.

You can find this on Amazon for 99 cents HERE

***brow waggles***

Also the author is having a Bury the Hatchet Blogfest and Give-away. He’s giving away some fancy-good-stuff like a Nook. Holy schmoly, Batman! You need to go check this out! Click on the link below.

CLICK ME

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This is a reminder that Gwen Gardener will be having a blogtour, October 8th – 31st. Interested? Click the link below.

CLICK HERE

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More announcements

My good friend, Lorelei Bell, author of Vampire Ascending and Vampire’s Trill has unleashed some more vampires on the public.

Get me for 99 cents HERE

Get me for 99 cents HERE

 

And fellow blogger, unique teacher of writing wisdom, author Roland Yeamons has released his new book.

Get me for 99 cents HERE

I also suggest to go and visit his blog Writing in the Crosshairs.

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Misha Gericke at My First Books has a message for everyone about those PITA word verifications. Go check it out! I couldn’t agree more about those buggers.

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Please help me! Please, fellow blogger buddies!

Secondhand Shoes is in its last stages before I release it. I know I did a cover reveal over at my other blog but I didn’t ask for help but…

I’m going to do another cover reveal. However, I don’t do techie-thingies and thing-a-majiggers all that well. So anyone interested in helping do the reveal? Please leave a comment, your interest in doing so, and how to get in contact with you so I can send you the info.

Your name will be put in a drawing for a free 10 dollar Amazon card. I’ll be doing the reveal on Friday, October 13th.

I hope I didn’t overwhelm everyone’s circuits today.

Sir Poops and Hair Ball will see you all onTuesday.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

E.J. Wesley’s Cover Reveal Party, Devon Cooper’s Free Book, and Other Things Today

 

Blood Fugue, Moonsongs Book 1 by E.J. Wesley Cover Reveal Party

Author E.J. Wesley is throwing a blog party to celebrate the release of his new book cover and wants you to join in the fun. Jump over to his blog to learn about how you can win some awesome prizes, including $50 toward a cover of your own and advance reader copies of Blood Fugue.

The Rocking Cover!

 

 

 

Cover work by Sketcher Girl, LLC - http://sketchergirlstudios.com/

What's the Story About?

“Some folks treated the past like an old friend. The memories warmed them with fondness for what was, and hope for what was to come. Not me. When I thought of long ago, my insides curdled, and I was left feeling sour and wasted.”

Jenny Schmidt is a young woman with old heartaches. A small town Texas girl with big city attitude, she just doesn’t fit in. Not that she has ever tried. She wears loneliness like a comfy sweatshirt. By the age of twenty-one, she was the last living member of her immediate family. Or so she thought…

“We found my ‘grandfather’ sitting at his dining room table. An entire scorched pot of coffee dangled from his shaky hand. His skin was the ashen gray shade of thunderclouds, not the rich mocha from the photo I’d seen. There were dark blue circles under each swollen red eye. A halo of white hair skirted his bald head, a crown of tangles and mats. Corpses had more life in them.”

Suddenly, instead of burying her history with the dead, Jenny is forced to confront the past. Armed only with an ancient family journal, her rifle, and an Apache tomahawk, she must save her grandfather’s life and embrace her dangerous heritage. Or be devoured by it.

BLOOD FUGUE by E.J. Wesley, is the first of the MOONSONGS books, a series of paranormal-action novelettes. At fewer than 13k words, BLOOD FUGUE is the perfect snack for adventurous readers who aren’t afraid of stories with bite. Available wherever fine eBooks are sold September 2012. 

Join the Party!

The Open Vein, E.J.'s blog - http://the-open-vein-ejwesley.blogspot.com/

E.J. Wesley on the Twitter - https://twitter.com/EJWesley

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Free book download:

Devon Cooper is offering her book, Bad Day, today for FREE.

Click here to download

Blurb:

Have you ever had a day that, no matter what you do, nothing seems to turn out right? In fact, a bad day would be an understatement? Angela works at a consulting firm in a high rise building downtown. Frank, a construction worker, is working on the top floor of the same building, and is deathly afraid of heights. Angie and Frank are strangers, who, under a different set of circumstances, would never speak to each other. When the fire alarm goes off, and the elevator they’re in gets stuck, their day takes a different turn. Sam is Frank’s friend and boss, and he has to make his way down the sixty flights of stairs when the fire alarm goes off. With an old sports injury, he’s not sure he’s going to be able to make it. He has no way of knowing where Frank is, and since he left his cell phone in his truck, he can’t even call his wife Joanne to let her know that he’s ok. Worry plagues Joanne when she can’t get a hold of Sam. When Joanne finds out that the high rise building has had a bomb threat called in to it, she freaks out with worry. Her life is Sam, and she has to find him. When the police check their list to see if he exited the building, his name isn’t there. Could their day get any worse?

And Nicole Pyles, has self-published her first short story,Underneath My Clothes, I Am Naked Too. You can download it for 1.99.

Click Here To Download the Story

Before I go, I ask that you all hop over to Siv’s blog, Been There, Done That. She’s been promoting a very cool blog and bookfest coming on Labor Day, Meylinda’s Labor Day Blogfest and Bookfest.

Click Here for more information.

Also, Martin T. Ingram, over at Three Cents Worth is collecting stories for a time travel anthology. Go check it out for more information! I may even try my hand at this.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly