IWSG JUNE - Still Writing

 Well, I'm a day late! Thank goodness for Fundy Blue or I would have never realized I missed it! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Progress is slow, but going. I received my first beta reader feedback a few weeks ago, and it kind of blew me away. It was overwhelmingly positive, which I wasn't expecting. There was a lot of good advice from both readers, one a SciFi fan, the other not. But it's so hard to quiet the little critic in the mind. What if they were just being nice since they're paid betas? What if they don't really know what they are talking about? What if this is a random match and everyone else hates it?

Seriously? What is with that voice? 

Don't worry, I don't let that get me down, but it does slow me down a little. I see this as a good thing though. It makes me look deeper and think carefully.

Some of the advice revolved around exploring relationships the main characters have with their own family/culture. That would be a good way to increase the Worldbuilding and help the reader better understand the complex mythology. 

Since the feedback related to pacing or sequence was good, there are no major revisions. But I'm still taking my time to ensure I carefully work in any new scenes. Part of me wants to get more feedback before making changes, but I'm not sure. Maybe make a few small changes first?

I also have plotted and begun drafting another novel. This one is more fantasy, and a lot of fun to write. It's Asian-inspired since I've always admired the artwork and mythology of that part of our world. (And because I watch a little too much K-Drama. I may or may not be completely obsessed with Alchemy of Souls...) I'll post more about that work later.

For now, here is the question of the month:

June 5 question - In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?

It would be nice to have an official beta reading group (paid and non-paid). I found my readers on Goodreads, and have my own little writing circle as well, but since we are already very supportive of each other here, it would be good to have a list of genres, preferences, and availability somewhere on IWSG. I know I can trust most of you to be honest and thorough. My Goodreads pick was random luck, I think, and my own writing circle is mostly fantasy and romance, so I automatically know my platonic character relationships will not entice them. General feedback is good, but I think feedback from the targeted audience would be more useful. 

This may already be established here and I just haven't come across it. So, if you're aware of a list or group, please comment and let me know. I am also part of a SciFi Discord, but I found that they are mostly hard SciFi and within the first paragraph of my novel, I was getting questions about how the gravity worked on the ship, and whether they would be safe traveling without seats to strap into. Fair point, but I'm more interested in the theoretical science of energy and matter and the philosophical side of culture and mythology, not so much about how their tech works...

I think I came across of list of editors and publishers, but that is another service that would be useful. Maybe we could even have "mentors" who help guide authors through the publishing world. 

I'm not sure what else, but I will visit the other author pages to get some ideas! Thanks for visiting!

The awesome co-hosts for the June 5 posting of the IWSG are Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!

IWSG May 2024 - Distractions

May Question:  How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

I always enjoyed teaching etymology to elementary students. I certainly do not have a deep knowledge of the subject, but enough to help a third-grader learn how to break up a word into its Greek or Latin parts.

When I look at the word distractions. I automatically see "dis" or apart, and "tions" for action or process. Then there is "tract." Now I see a flying Winnebago being pulled into Spaceball One by Lord Helmet. Tractor beams are such an interesting element of science fiction. It was orginally coined by an author, E. E. Smith, in 1931 as "attractor beam," then shortened to "tractor beam." Did this science fiction writing chemist from Wisconsin picture a farming tractor when he wrote the word? Invisible John Deeres pulling things around in space...

There, see how easily we were distracted? Am I the only one who can hear the music from the tractor tipping scene in Cars?

But seriously, I like breaking this word down because it serves a purpose in understanding distractions. When I think of my writing as a pull, an invisible tractor beam connecting me to a story or a small seed of inspiration, then it means that things that serve to pull me apart are in essence trying to damage that connection.

Yet, it happens. The problem is, I'm not necessarily an easily distracted person. Which is in fact why I do not write as much as I should. If I were to fully give into that pull, I would have no time for anything else. I would find my job, my responsibilities, even my family to be a complete drain. So I often find distractions on purpose because I can easily pause a streaming episode, or even put down a book (although that's much more difficult). But pausing creation is exhausting and frustrating. So in the evening, while my kids are awake, I avoid writing. I distract myself from that desire because I want to be present for every page of homework, every game of uno, and every dirty dish.

So here is my current contradiction. Writing makes me happy. I get great satisfaction and pleasure from creating. But not writing is far more enjoyable than writing with constant interruption. 

Side note:  I once kept a stopwatch running. At home and at work, I never made it more than 4 minutes without an interruption. 4 minutes was the longest!!! Hardly anything can be accomplished in that time! I cannot decide if this is going to cause dimentia or prevent it. What I do know, is it is exhausting and maddening. 

So how do I deal with distractions while writing? I avoid writing until there are minimal distractions, because distraction is my life and I can't stop my life to write. Accepting that reality was my best personal development of the past few years. 

Book Update:

My first scheduled beta reader has been out of contact for personal reasons so I found two new readers. I'm hoping for some feedback in the next few weeks. In the meantime I'm afraid to work on anything else. I'm not sure what is behind that fear, but I'm sitting with it patiently. It just doesn't seem right to pour my focus into another work yet. Besides, I know how this will go. I'll start a new project and immediately get feedback on the novel and then have to stop the new project to refocus on the old one. Distractions, interruptions, different words, same result.

Want to read what other authors do about distractions? Join the blog hop!

The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

IWSG April- 4 Years

OH MY GOSH, IT'S WEDNESDAY!

What a slacker! I can't believe I almost missed it. I was just hanging out on the couch, waiting for my turn to watch TV (anxious to finish my WWII documentary series on Netflix), scrolling through Facebook, when I saw the IWSG post about the optional question! Apparently, my left leg was asleep and I got up so fast I looked like Gollum trying to get across the living room to my desk, limping and hopping around a pillow, umbrella, blanket, and chromebook. (Side note:  if you have tips about how to get kids to stop leaving things on the ground let me know!)

Luckily I made it without any injury and I'm ready to go! So here it is:

April 3 question - How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I'm excited to say it is the fourth anniversary of this blog! In April 2020 I remembered my gardening blog from before I had kids. I posted about gardening, beekeeping, growing my own yeast starter, baking, and general sustainable living. I even posted about my homebirth experience. I had a good group of followers. Nothing big, but more than I expected for a nobody in Arkansas. Oddly, there was a large group of people in Germany who liked reading about starting a yeast culture and how to live without shampoo and paper towels. 

I started to wonder if I could get back to it. But I was trapped in a tiny apartment four months after moving a thousand miles away from my hometown. I no longer had bees, or even a garden. Still, I needed to get some of myself back. I decided to take a second shot at a novel I wrote. I would get the kids into bed, turn on music, make a cup of tea, let out a humongous sigh, and then write. When I first started the blog, I was not necessarily going to focus on writing so I chose to simply say create.

One night I was working on the novel re-write and my husband handed me a business card for IWSG. He said his coworker's wife was a publisher and that she was part of a group that helped writers. May 2020 was my first ever IWSG blog hop. The door was suddenly open for me to join this fantastic community. 

Not much has changed since then. I would say it is busier, but that is a lie. In 2020, when many other people were at home, I was helping to keep the local childcare center open for school-aged kids of essential workers. As a former elementary teacher, I was able to jump in at my new job and take over the program. I thought leaving teaching in December 2019 was going to give me more time...the universe had other plans. I thought:  it's childcare, I'll settle in, work fewer hours, be around my kids in the afternoon but still get paid... but before I knew it, I was helping in the kitchen, running virtual school for about 50 kids, assisting the director, becoming a certified lifeguard, whatever they needed, I did it! I worked so much they put me on salary. After avoiding an actual leadership role for as long as I could, I stepped up and pursued an administrator certificate (hence the long break from the blog in 2023) and now I'm co-directing the center. And trust me, I work more now than I ever did as a teacher! 

But throughout that, I have greatly appreciated this community and what I have achieved along the way. My first (and only) published story was included in the IWSG Anthology, I participated in flash fiction contests, and a blogging contest. I do wish I could get back to those, but I really want to put my focus on getting the novel through beta readers and out to query. At the same time, I am preparing to turn my 2021 A-to-Z flash fiction series into a novel. I hope to start drafting on that next week. I'm grateful that I have feedback from those blog posts to help improve the story and turn it into something great.

Please join the hop and read what other writers have to say about blogging.

The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia!

IWSG March 2024 - AI

March 6th question: Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing?

The awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

As a science fiction writer, I have some very mixed feelings about artificial intelligence. I have not used or played with any AI for writing. At this point in my life, AI uses me more than I use AI, I think...

Instead of discussing my own feelings directly (and since I'm not sure I really have my own feelings yet) I want to visit some science fiction artificial intelligence ideas.

Let's start right here...

This is my ninth grade year book. And that's me ignoring the rest of the world around me because I'm on another world--Dune--as written by Frank Herbert. Now fast forward to March 2nd, 2024...

I have on my stillsuit and I'm ready to see Dune 2. So you could say this is probably the story that has influenced me the most as a reader and science fiction fan. I know what you're thinking. "But there wasn't AI in Dune!" But there was! In fact, its omission is the reason why this story is relevant to discussing artificial intelligence. 

I'll admit, I have not read the Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, but I have studied some of the back story online, and do know of its reference in the original books by Frank Herbert.

So here is the gist, in case you didn't notice, there are no "computers" or artificial intelligence in Dune. People still send messages in person and use specially trained humans to calculate and navigate. This human-central mentality resulted from a war fought long in the past that eliminated all intelligent machines and the way of thinking that led to their use.

The problem with AI was humans were slowly giving up their freedom to machines that could think. Technology was replacing the human ability to make judgments and define their world (all the way down to beauty, or even creativity...). It wasn't necessarily that AI came in and enslaved humans, it was that humans willingly degraded themselves, making them vulnerable to those with power, those with AI. "Human innovation coupled with human laziness is perceived as the potential destruction of the human race." (Nerd Cookies) 

When I was in grade school, a teacher gave us an excerpt from a story to read during math. It was about a man who had discovered how to do arithmetic in a future world where everyone used computers. That story was a major drive behind my obsession with math. I did not discover until this week that the story we read was by Asimov:  The Feeling of Power. (Of course, we only read the first scene, and not the part where he commits suicide...) That story instilled in me a fear of becoming dependent on calculators. To this day, I have coworkers who ask me to calculate something rather than get a calculator out of their desk drawer. And I'm okay with that! And here's the trick, even I get out my calculator sometimes, but I have confidence in what I need to enter and what I should expect out. That comes from being able to do it myself. 

My fear with AI, whether in writing or in cars, is that humans will become utterly useless. I fear that we will lose important skills that drive us to be human. AI is a good safety net. Having a calculator in my desk to make sure I don't make a mistake with someone else's money, or having automatic breaks on a car to save lives makes sense. Will people use these tools correctly? Or will they forget how to do math and do stupid things while driving? Will we rely so much on machine intelligence that large portions of the human population become grossly incapable?

Will constantly accessible AI help to serve people who are otherwise incapable, or will it cause people who might become capable to not even try? Are we giving more power to more people? Or are we taking away potential power? And maybe these things aren't connected at all. Maybe AI will always be a tool and will assist us in becoming even greater. If nothing else, it can point out our mistakes and motivate us to learn better.

I'm a believer in struggle and challenge. Strength, resilience, and growth result from challenges. Is an AI-rich future going to look like Wall-E? Or Planet of the Apes? Or 2001:  A Space Oddysey? Or Battlestar Gallactica? Probably not, but is it going to be our best future? Maybe not...

Maybe it comes down to the question of power as both Asimov and Herbert suggested. In both cases, machine intelligence had come so far that it controlled war. The solution was to instead fight man vs. machine. So, power seems to be either given to the machine, or to the human, not both. 

It could also be argued that more machines means less necessity for humans to rely on one another. While I enjoy indepedence, I see a world around me where people do not openly rely on one another. Danger lies in this disconnection, this false isolation we place ourselves in. The reality is, we are heavily dependent on one another. We need each other for every necessity and luxury we enjoy. From the man who carries away your garbage every week, to the woman who puts your groceries on the shelf, to the teacher who watches over your children, to the first responder who comes to the rescue--all of these are invisible connections that are erased from our sight by machines. We don't know this person, but we are connected to them, dependent on them! How many people have forgotten these connections already? How many people place no value on them?

Maybe I went too far with my musings, but this is a glimpse into the inner workings of my mind. A mere glimpse...I could go on and on and on...I kind of did, but then delelted half of it so I didn't scare everyone off...just a select few...glad you're still here...

Have a great month! Keep being awesome, and don't become lazy and allow the machines to win!! That's right! Open those cans manually, use a rotary mower, and turn on your own blinker. You got this! 

(This message was brought to you by the nerd who still wears an analog watch.)

Resource:  The Evolution of Technology Post-Machine Crusade - Dune Lore by Nerd Cookies

Book Review - DECAY by Andrew Kibe

Decay by Andrew Kibe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A thrilling adventure! I generally prefer my zombie movies to have either a humorous side or a good science fiction backdrop, and I've never read a zombie novel (and completed it) until now. I couldn't put this one down. Sam is a well-written MC, and following his struggle lets the reader build connections with each of the other players of the "game." I could see through his eyes, and feel his pain and frustration. Kibe built a truly original world and pulled it all together in the end with a lovely bit of sci-fi twist. Well well-written, quick read, intriguing plot/concept. I'm looking forward to the continuation!

View all my reviews

Andrew is a member of an awesome group of writers I have thankfully gotten to work with over the past few years. He did a phenomenal job on this novel, and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future. Great job, Andrew!!

Where did 2023 Go?

 Did I really just miss a year with you guys? I can't believe it. And I missed the February IWSG! I never was good at keeping a friendship going. But that being said, I'm extremely loyal if I ever do make a friend! Just don't expect me to want to hang out on the regular or to plan dinners. Just thinking about that gives me anxiety.

You didn't miss much. Life went on. Day after day my day job got in the way of my desire to be independently wealthy so I could write, garden, and do yoga all the time. 

I did complete a round of edits on my novel manuscript in July, and then hid it away, afraid of the next step.

Before Thanksgiving, I broke a toe. Then in December, I underwent laser eye surgery (voluntarily). It was probably the worst and most painful recovery of my life (and I homebirthed two kids). Shortly after that, I finished my yoga teacher training (mostly blind and with a broken toe).

So here I am, clear vision, glasses-free, without my limp, and ready to go!

I would like to thank my family for all their well wishes, and my husband for taking good care of me. But mostly I want to thank Martha Wells!!!!! The Murderbot Series audiobooks got me through that awful recovery. It is amazing what a good book (and pranayama) can do when you are trapped in your own mind and drowning in pain. I swear, Murderbot and I would definitely be friends (see above paragraph about my lacking friendship skills, then read the Murderbot series, and you will understand). We were meant for each other. It's hard living with humans!

I will be posting reviews of the books I read last year and some updates on the novel soon. 

Can't wait to write for you again!

I'll be getting this T-shirt! Click image for link to buy.

IWSG - February - Cover Art

The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!

February 1 question - If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?

Well, since I only have one work published in a book, this is a tricky question. I did not have any say in the cover of the book, but it was an anthology and short story authors would seldom have input.

I am currently working on a side project for the AtoZ challenge involving an artist (my aunt by marriage). I will be using her paintings to inspire a collection of short stories. Now that I have said that here, I better actually do it!! I imagine if I use her paintings to one day make a hard published work, I would get her help to create the cover.

And just for fun, here is a cover I designed when I wrote my first-ever manuscript (in 2016 I think? Goodness that isn't that long ago, and I have come sooooo far--as an author and a person.) While I used a few elements from this manuscript in my current WIP, it is a totally different (and much-improved) story. And of course, there is a new title. But I really like this aesthetic. It's simple and spacey.

Credit goes to my husband for creating the starry backdrop. He does 3D animation and some sort of VR magic and has a bunch of textures and images he makes at home as a hobby. I think that backdrop was for a game he wanted to create. He says one day when I'm a famous author, he will hire me to do the story writing for his future game design company. Isn't he sweet...

Also, I'm glad I shortened my author name. That's so many letters! What do you think?

Use the badge below to find links to tons of great author pages!

WIP Update - The Edits Continue

Two nights ago, I finished another pass and read the last words of my WIP. My son actually fell asleep on the ground behind me while I read the last few chapters out loud (which could be a bad sign...). But when he returned after a quick shower, he listened to the very last chapter quietly. 

When I reached the end, he asked, "Aren't you going to write some more words?" I told him that was the end, and tried to explain how it began (the end of a journey) versus how it ended (the start of a new journey), and how that seemed like a good way to close the story. Then he wanted me to read from the beginning. But it was bedtime.

I'm still high on the feeling of another milestone met! I know I'm still not done, though. I've fought with deciding the next step. I made a few notes along the way. There were two or three places that needed a quick revision to make the characters/plot consistent. Those are pretty much fixed now.

I reached out to my coach, but he can't meet until next week. 

So, here I sit, with tons of motivation and creative juices boiling, and no certain path.

I know there is more to do! I noticed something on this read, though. It's strange how stories and writing shift as the plot moves along. The beginnings are always more descriptive and once the action slips in, the story speeds up. I find myself questioning if that acceleration is the right amount, and if there is more that could be revealed to the reader throughout. 

I'm also afraid of those scenes when the character is experiencing something humans would not be able to fathom. Did I describe it well enough? Most of the reviews about my published short story contain the word "confusing." This is my ultimate fear now. Will the reader grasp the experience through my words?

So possible next steps:

• Make another pass and go even deeper with character voice and narrative description. 
• Focus on "out-of-body" scenes and sharpen the description.
• Focus on the mythology and reveal more to the reader (sooner?) so it doesn't come on so heavy.
• Add more to the secondary POV so the story has a stronger dual perspective (not much, maybe just one or two extra scenes/conversations).
• Put it away again and work on something else with all this creative fuel. (Really don't want to do this again! I need it to be fresh. Remembering an entire novel in your head while you make small changes without creating huge ripples is as hard as it sounds.)

Decisions, decisions.

While I consider these options, here is a piece of early description from the first chapter. I was working on making the description active so the reader learns about the scenery and the story while she explores.

She stood on top of the dune with her eyes closed, soaking in all the vibrations of the planet. She listened to the water—crashing, rolling, sliding, hissing away into tiny holes in the sand. A perfect decrescendo. The scene mesmerized her. Her surroundings comforted her and made her feel at home despite having absolutely no similarity to the constant sound of thrusters, air recyclers, and feet tapping on metal floors. Memories of past lives threatened to surface but she pushed them away. This moment was hers. The ancestors would not take this from her.

 I really like this paragraph. It reveals a lot about the character and the threshold in her life she is about to cross.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend/week. Enjoy the closest new moon in a thousand-year span. Pretty strong symbolism for new beginnings and long journeys!

IWSG - January - My Word

 Happy New Year!

The awesome co-hosts for the January 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and T. Powell Coltrin!

January 4 question - Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? What is your word for 2023? Why?

Balance

(Really this is my word for this decade or even this life.)

I love to do, I love to learn, and I love to create. I love it so much I can't help myself. While I refuse to slow down--or lower my expectations for myself--I do want to become better at balancing all the things!

This doesn't mean I'm terrible at letting go. I feel like I am progressing toward mastery on this one! So I know that when things don't balance, I have to let something go. 

Balance all the things.

Balance the things to keep and the things to let go.

Balance the desire for perfection and the realistic boundaries of time and capability.

Balance the moments for myself and the moments for others.

Yep, this is a good word.

(Also, I'm a Libra. Insert sarcastic "Surprise" here.)

IWSG - December - Time to Catch-up!

It is time to return. I am finally in a place where I can read and comment on other members, so I am back to being part of the hop.

I hated to step out, but I also hated to hang on by my fingernails as I tried to survive a bit of personal turbulence. I still would have missed out on really supporting others with full participation!

So here is my take on the question for this month:

December 7 question - It's holiday time! Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writer goals?

I would like to say this is a time to catch up. I am finally finishing up some professional certificate courses I was required to complete for my day job, so my evening/weekend times are about to be more open. On the flip side, I will be traveling to visit family, which means several days of getting nothing done (except devoting 100% of my time to family).

I will certainly get more writing done in the next month than I have in the past four months. So I would say I couldn't fall much further behind!

I look forward to reading many other author responses! Thanks for keeping my spot warm!

RIP My Sweet Jiji
02/2019 - 12/2022
We didn't have long enough!

Now who will stare at me while I write? Silly kitty!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the December 7 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

Personal Time Travel

 The evidence on this website is clear. I have recently been stuck in an unprecedented mode of time travel. Time slipped further and further away. So much so, I think the word "slup" could be invented to describe the feeling more accurately. No time for this, and no time for that, all because time slup.

Passion could not stop it. Drive could not stop it. Desperation certainly could not stop it. My writing coaches, circle of author friends, and this website all became frozen in a past life. Glimpses of them appeared on a whiff of guilt each time I walked by my lonely laptop resting on a desk of increasingly heaped crap.

I would try to get back, but thirty minutes of editing, an hour of planning in my journal, a long silent stare at my inspiration board all amounted to nothing more than a wake for my author persona. My words slipped (slup) further from my fingertips every day. It wasn't depressing, not as depressing as it sounds. I found time with my family, time to do small, insignificant household tasks like wiping down the world's most complicated trashcan. Time at work grew longer and longer, too. What is the point of taking a break in a ten-hour day? If I work all the way through, I can finish even more! I never do seem to catch up.

There truly is nothing sad about my missing persona. It isn't even missing, just under a sleeping curse, waiting in hibernation for the flow of time to be just right.

Is the time right? I cannot say, but I can say this:  I woke up on another planet today. This is something my past self has done many times. I could hear the crashing of waves on sand. It is dark, but not night. This is not the first time I have dreamed of a planet in perpetual dusk, although this one is different. The sand is the color of the night sky. I follow the shoreline until the washing sand gives way to a paved staircase of deep blue bricks. The water laps at the edges of the steps leading to the base of a huge tower. Everything is dark blue. The sand is probably the main ingredient for the bricks and cob used to build the tower. The retreating water leaves the surface glossy and slippery, but I am not using my feet to travel, so I won't fall. As peaceful as this scene sounds, I know I am being hunted. But I am not afraid, merely annoyed. What is it this time?

Then I hear the bathroom door slam, the toilet lid smack into the tank, and the relieved sigh of a small child. I am sucked back into the too-fast flow of time once again.

IWSG - July - A Life in a Book

It is the last week of my summer classes and I am excited to get them over and done so I can get back to writing! I have a lot of catching up to do before the next (and last) semester begins. 

The awesome co-hosts for the July 6 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner, Janet Alcorn, PJ Colando, Jenni Enzor, and Diane Burton!

July 6 question - If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?

I keep scanning my favorites and I am really stumped on this one! Maybe I am afraid to live in my favorite books because I read mostly Science Fiction and the worlds are far from romantic.

Hmm...

This might seem dark, but I almost would want to live in S M Stirling's Change World. I certainly hope I would be in the minority who survived the Change, and would love to live at Dun Juniper! 

Other than that, it would have to be on another planet, but I would hardly want to live on one of Le Guin's planets, or on Arrakis. (Maybe Discworld? I fear the stupidity of the locals, yet it seems soooo familiar to my current world.)

I have it!!! I shall live in one of two books (which also happen to be my top 2 favorite movies, too):

Stardust or Howl's Moving Castle

Either world will do wonderfully!

I hope I get to spend this new life with Tristan or Howl! Don't tell my husband.

Happy July, everyone! Miss you all, and hope to be back soon!

IWSG - June

Fashionably late to the party again. (But determined not to give up.)

I have some more content planned for this month, so I should be able to keep up...if anyone is still out there.

June 1 question - When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If you have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?

This is a great question! I never really had trouble with the "writing" part of the story, but I am definitely stuck on the "editing" part! (Which is a part of writing...so...guilty.) The going is extremely tough right now. 

Today I came across a card from an old-fashioned printing press that said:  "If you do not have time to do it right, how will you ever have time to do it over." This was always my attitude while writing. I wanted it to be perfect the first time. Of course, a first draft is never perfect, but I certainly didn't want to be stuck where I am today, making big edits. Now I know how to do a better job in the pre-drafting phase, and I hope that means my time will be spent "doing it right." No hurry!

So, right now, staying in the groove is really more like visiting the groove when I can. I know what I want to accomplish, I know what I need to accomplish it, and I just keep stopping by and making small things happen. (That's all I can do right now, and that's good enough for me.) I have enough stress in my life without my love of storytelling being one of them.

I hope everyone is having a good start to their summer/winter season!

The awesome co-hosts for the June 1 posting of the IWSG are SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguire, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray!

IWSG May - Let's Pretend

 Let's pretend like I did not miss the last two months of blogging. Let's also pretend like I did not miss the entire month of April and the A to Z challenge which was so successful last year, and that I did not put it on my goals for 2022.

Now I will pretend like I have a good answer for the May question for the Insecure Writers Support Group.

Awesome co-hosts for today last week:  

Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, Lee Lowery, and Nancy Gideon!

May 4 15 question - It's the best of times; it's the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?

My writer life is completely enslaved by my other lives. When my overall life is high, then the writing is high, too. I feel great when I can stick to my routine, when I can stay in contact with my writing buddies and writing coaches. I make plenty of progress when everyone else in my house is content and nothing else needs my attention.

Writing lows strike when there is any sort of imbalance. For example the mess on my desk right now. I really want to stop and fix it. I also want to do some exercise, fold some laundry, weed my garden, play games with my kids...

So it would seem, I could come up with a thousand excuses not to spend time writing. So are the crappy times really because of life distractions, or because I am not motivated to make time for writing? Seems like a cyclical argument!

Do you have to keep a strict routine to do the things you want to do? When do you let yourself slide?

Thanks for pretending...

Book Review: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Need a quick SciFi fix? This is it. I enjoyed #2 as much as I did #1 and I really want to buy the whole series to sit on my shelf so I can touch it affectionately when I'm feeling down.

But seriously, these quick reads are perfect little episodes with just the right amount of fun. Where else can you find a deadly murderbot who sighs at the idiotic and suicidal decisions of humans?

Martha Wells builds a convincing and effective world through the eyes of a "rogue murderbot," otherwise known as a security model that has hacked its governor module and uses its spare time to watch too much TV while trying to figure out humans. The first-person perspective is perfect and I have no trouble relating to this bot. I imagine most SciFi fans have similar opinions of most humans. Wells' writing style is easy to read and very clean. I cannot think of a single thing I would complain about in this book.

View all my reviews

I read this book as part of my SpaceTime Reading Challenge. To view my progress or sign up, visit the post.

March IWSG - Scenes and Rings

It's March.

I spent February working constant overtime. It was brutal. Some days I had up to 15 employees call out. Two new employees quit after only a week. Childcare is not for the weak. 

And my personal in-progress list seems to enjoy growing. Nothing gets marked off, but I still keep adding things. I just can't help it. I want to do it all! Besides, this list is for me! So I am doing a six-week workout challenge, slowly making my way through yoga teacher certification, taking an online course, starting a new garden from scratch, and trying to do plenty of writing and reading.

While my blog content is lacking, I assure you there is plenty going on behind the scenes. Speaking of scenes, this month's question is about conflicting feelings regarding scenes. I am still in the editing phase for my novel, and I can't say there is a particular scene I have felt conflicted about for a specific reason. Mostly, I just keep questioning each scene and trying to make sure the plot keeps moving forward.

I'm fueling my inspiration with as much reading as I can! I signed up for the Space/Time Reading Challenge. If you haven't been by to sign up, you should! While you are there, read a little bit about the creator Jemima Pett. She has a recent book release that would be a great fit for the challenge. Let me tell you about it!!

Book: Zanzibar’s Rings (Book 3 in the Viridian System series)

Author: Jemima Pett

Blurb: A galactic crisis: the entire comms system destroyed. No waypoints, no navigation aids, no database access... and how will spaceships in flight get home--or to any destination? Dolores is stuck in warp with a very dangerous passenger, Pete gets his shuttle back home on manual. But why does anything in close contact with pure orichalcum fix itself? Just flying through Zanzibar's Rings solves the problem--as the Federation's Fighters find, as they descend on the Viridian System to take possession of the planets.

This third book in the series wraps up the adventure that started with The Perihelix and continued with Curved Space to Corsair. It is a self-contained story with references to previous events, but no prior knowledge is required.

Zanzibar’s Rings published 22nd Feb 2022: Amazon, iTunes, B&N and Kobobooks.

Social media links:

Visit Jemima’s website at jemimapett.com or connect with her at BookBub, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and Pinterest.

Thanks for being an inspiration, Jemima!

And for more inspiring authors, see our co-hosts this month!

The awesome co-hosts for the March 2 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence!

Book Review: CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh

Cassafire by Alex J. Cavanaugh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was eager to read the continuation of Byron’s journey from CassaStar, and I was not disappointed. CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh was an enjoyable and quick read.

Byron kept his promise at the end of the first book and signed on to an exploration team. He serves as a pilot for scientists as they study alien technology on a planet that only recently discovered they were not alone, but has not yet mastered space travel of their own. Byron’s unique abilities in telepathy make him more than just a useful chauffeur.

For me, Byron is the attraction. I think his character is interesting and unique and his struggle with relationships makes him very relatable. There is even a bit of romance, which I was not expecting. I think it was well executed and crucial to the plot.

I would recommend this book/series to SciFi lovers who want to explore space and hear the tales of exploration and everyday life. The rest of the series is definitely on my TBR list. Cavanaugh is an addictive storyteller.


View all my reviews

I read this book as part of my SpaceTime Reading Challenge. To view my progress or sign up, visit the post.

February IWSG - Who's Missing?

February 2 question - Is there someone who supported or influenced you who perhaps isn't around anymore? Anyone you miss?

The awesome co-hosts for the February 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!

This is an easy question...EVERYONE.

Just months before starting my membership in the Insecure Writers Support Group I moved a thousand miles away from everyone I ever knew. All the people who molded me into the shape I am today are greatly missed. The grandparents who always saw the possibilities inside me, the parents who made sure those possibilities had a chance to blossom, the aunts, uncles, and cousins who influenced my thoughts and ideas, the friends who allowed me to be myself; all of them are far away.

The hardest part of leaving so many behind is knowing that my children will not have those same amazing influences in their lives. The best part about knowing this is I appreciate every memory and embrace each one so it can shine through my being. My kids will know those influences through me, and my readers will catch glimpses of them, too.

Thanks for visiting me today. While the void is not completely filled by it, hearing from you does mean a lot to me. Thanks for your support and influence!

Laugh for the day:  Grammarly wanted to correct "so many behind" to "so many behinds." Yes, there are a lot of behinds in my family, and they would all get a kick out of that.

Book Review: Trust by Jean Davis

Trust by Jean Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fast-paced, good read. Jean Davis’s 'Trust' is my favorite type of SciFi: foreign worlds, multiple races, and intriguing abilities and technology. I picked this book because I enjoyed another book by Davis (The Last God). I would recommend both books to anyone who enjoys traveling to other worlds and tales about the complications of love and war.

Vayen is a survivor and always has been. No matter what women, partners, or secret government agencies throw at him, he finds a way to rise above. (Not that he doesn’t hit rock bottom on more than one occasion.

It was difficult to put this book down. I will definitely be following the rest of the series.

The title is an interesting connection to the story. I find myself wondering why 'Trust?' I think it does push me to reflect on the characters’ arcs. In that capacity, the title is perfect.

I noticed a couple of editing errors, but none were distracting or annoying. The first-person perspective is perfect for the story and the reader feels everything as the characters do. The world-building is weighted mostly towards systems and technology and not as much environment or scenery, but there were enough details to give me a picture of how each world was different, particularly the architecture. (Same with ships.) I have a feeling more of this will be visualized in later books in the series as the author further explores the Narvan.

I am mostly satisfied with the ending, I think the story wraps up well, if not a little too quickly. But that matches the overall pace.

I do read for pleasure but also to study the craft of storytelling. I think Davis is an excellent science fiction storyteller and a good inspiration for other writers.

Final Note: I love her cover art!

View all my reviews

I read this book as part of my SpaceTime Reading Challenge. To view my progress or sign up, visit the post.

Read Space/Time Travel - CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Here I am, minding my own business, doing my first discussion board post for an online course I'm taking, reading through some of my favorite blogs, and out of nowhere I discover there are reading challenges for specific types of books!

Even better, I find that writers I know and love are participating. And an author I know and love is the creator! AND it involves space *and* time travel books!

And I was thinking the only luck that I would see in 2022 would be that 41st bagel bite that came in the box of 40 I just bought for my kids. (Thanks, mom, for teaching my kids what bagel bites are.)

This is fantastic news!!!

I'm IN! Challenge accepted. Let's do this. I'm only ten days late. I have been reading a book already this year, but I do not think it counts. It is an anthology, but technically the stories I've read so far are not space or time-related. (But very science fiction.) I shall have to find another.

If reading about space and time travel is also your cup of tea, go sign up! You don't need to have a blog, but you will need a place to post your reviews. Perhaps on Goodreads? (If you don't have Goodreads, make that another challenge for you this year. It is a great place for readers!)

Use the image below to find out about the challenge and sign up!

Updates on my progress:

Complete:

Planned: