ARC Readers: It Takes a Village
If you know a writer, ask about being an ARC reader.
You’ll make their day. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a free ebook!
Pandemic Shelter-in-Place Survival Tip #12
True story. Today, in fact.
Extroverts and Introverts. We’re all in this together.
Frog Time: do the hard thing
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning, and if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” ~ Mark Twain
It was a (briefly) pleasant discovery to find it was a writer — Mark Twain, at that — who came up with the “eat the frog” fable. Until I learned that Twain, like Lincoln, is often credited online with things he didn’t actually say.
Social distancing in the COVID-19 era, in turn, provided me with a choice opportunity to whip up my own Amphibious Barbeque Cookout (ABC).
…Friday the 13th: This is Normal
I’m not alone in this, right?
Frame this one: Rejection Letters
“Did you keep your first rejection letter?”
That’s an awkward question. My answer usually begins with the caveat: “Okay, please keep in mind, I was only thirteen at the time …”
(Spoiler alert — I didn’t.)
I vaguely recall wandering around the schoolyard at recess, feeling sorry for myself and lamenting the untimely demise of an otherwise promising writing career. (Ah, the self-centered melodrama of the adolescent mind.)
Fast-forward to 2020. A fresh rejection letter arrives, and really makes my day.
A statement like that deserves some explanation.
…New Year’s Hat-Tip: a tribute to influencers & encouragers
The beginning of a new calendar year — let alone a new decade — is an excellent opportunity to stop and reflect.
It’s a chance to honor some of the significant people who have shaped us by their encouragement and belief in us.
As a young writer, I spent a great deal of time by myself, as most writers do. My high school provided exactly zero (0) classes in Creative Writing. If there were other aspiring writers in my vicinity, we shared a common anonymity.
…Write/Query/Pitch: Setting Goals for 2020
When it comes to writing, I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions. Most resolutions in my world have more to do with becoming a better humanoid.
If — on the other hand — the topic is “setting writing goals for a new year,” count me in.
Creative writing goals range between a no-brainer (Write. Edit. Revise. Repeat.) and the steely-eyed demands of setting Measurable Productivity Goals.
My learning curve on queries and pitching “live” over the past couple of years has been informative. I’m still scratching the surface—probably more than I realize—but what I’ve learned will impact my goals for 2020. More on that later.
…Aspiring Writers: Learn to Love Editing
It was my privilege to spend just under three hours as a guest speaker in a local high school this week.
My task, according to the creative writing teacher, was simple: “Please help my students understand why editing is important.”
No problem — all high school students love editing, right?*
*(tongue planted firmly in cheek)
…Tracker (T1) Book Launch
“An imaginative world, an array of well-rounded characters, and a pleasantly unpredictable plot.”
“Nightmares — I loved this book!”
from the back cover:
A generation ago, Earth’s wealthiest citizens — the Hoarders — seized control of the planet’s resources, retreated into their fortified Enclaves, and left the rest of the population to fend for itself.
Now, Hoarders have begun randomly Implanting people with a new kind of microtechnology, capable of converting their unsuspecting hosts into violent and deadly automatons.
They also created Trackers, a stealth unit of mechanically and chemically enhanced creatures, fanatically devoted to hunting down and killing anyone unlucky enough to have an Implant.
Amos Morgan and Aubrey Carter, together with a small band of fellow Runners, must unravel the mystery, racing against time before the Trackers locate them.
And before their own Implants change them into … something else.
Available in print and ebook at:
All links via Books2Read
Diagnosis: Implant
(Tracker flash fiction #2)
Aubrey reels from the news. Her heart pounds and dizziness threatens to overwhelm her. This can’t be happening. Why me?
It’s easy to feel resentful.
She’s doing the best she can, carving out a life for herself after the Hoarders completed construction on their walled Enclave.
Two years after what should’ve been her high school graduation — an event she’d only heard stories of — she moved north to a small village in search of work.
She doesn’t mind her job at the ramshackle café. Her boss is gruff but fair, and Aubrey managed to rent a tiny, but affordable, house in town. And when Thomas and Sarah moved in next door, Aubrey knew they’d become good friends. Things were looking up.
Her sense of well-being is short-lived.
Tonight, Aubrey sits in Thomas and Sarah’s kitchen, listening with stunned horror as they explain what a Tracker is, what it’s capable of, and the sinister meaning of “Harvest.” Their description of the soul-less creature is daunting enough, but Aubrey can’t fathom why it should matter to her, living so far from the Enclave.
Until a somber-faced Thomas pulls out a scanner, and Sarah gently turns the conversation to Implants.
Available in print and ebook at:
All links via Books2Read
