IWSG July Bursting In Air

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And so the seventh month of the year is begun. How fast this year is speeding by. The summer is moving right along, fall will soon be here, and my mother-in-law’s visit has gone well. She leaves us next week and I'll be sad to see her leave. This time with her has been one of those special times in one’s life where one is truly aware and in the present, knowing this will be a memory to cherish in the future. 

July is also special in that it is our anniversary month! Thirty-six years with a wonderful and patient man who is the love of my life. July is also America's birthday! Hope you have fun plans. This will be our first fourth of July in Columbus and I'm looking forward to the fireworks. I'm thankful for all the above.

Do you have things happening, now that we are in the second half of the year, that you are thankful for? Why should we wait for November to find out?!

The July question of the month is: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

The habit of too much introspection I think is a personal trait I have used in my writing. I also like to use traits I see of those around me, though never enough (I hope!) for them to see it, or things I’ve seen done by people I don’t know. 

Our purpose at IWSG is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

I am honored to be a co-host this month along with 

awesome IWSG co-hosts,   

Erika Beebe, Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, MJ Fifield, 

and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

Please go by their blogs and thank them for co-hosting this month!

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

photo of fireworks from:

https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/events/

June, Yes, Already IWSG

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So, June is now here to prove that 2019 can go faster than any year before it. I’m sitting in my little kitchen listening to the breeze blowing through tree leaves and birds chirping, and someone’s A/C going even though it isn’t hot, yet. A quiet day in the middle of a city, which finds me thinking of the beginning of summer and what it might bring.

I hope to have time to write. I will make as much time as I can. The reason I know some time will be taken off is a good one. My mother in law is coming for a visit. She will stay with us in our 800 sq ft rental house and I will do my best to occupy her with talks, walks and fun things in the city to see. I don’t want to tire her (she’s soon to be 86), but my goal is that she will feel appreciated and loved.

City of Columbus Ohio

I’m a bit insecure about how this visit will go. My mother in law and I have until recently had a “distanced” relationship. I could say she’s been the proverbial “scary” and “no-way-to-please” mother in law and I wouldn’t be lying. But last year something changed. She all of a sudden likes me. I’m hesitant to trust this new side of her, but I don’t want to dwell in the past. I want to love her and have a true friendship with her. I have always wanted this, so I’m going forward with my goals and my desire to help her be happy with us while she’s here.

Having just “finished” my current WIP, I'm pleased to find that I still have it in me to finish novels I begin. So, I will look at this coming summer with my MIL as a WIP and see how it goes. Surely, I will learn a lot, and do a lot of revising. My mother in law and our relationship is worth this. Trepidatious or not, I can’t wait to see how “we” turn out.

 

June IWSG Question: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

I love to read mysteries, ScFi, and biographies. In writing, I like the puzzle of having to work it all out. I think that no matter what genre I write, the mystery of beginning a story and not knowing how I'm going to get to the end, the sense of having to puzzle something out, make a story work, is what makes writing so addicting for me.  I've written a mystery, a police procedural, and three historical fiction novels. Each one is a puzzle in the beginning. So, I guess I don't have a favorite genre (yet) that I like to write. I just like to write whatever story has the most to offer in figuring it out and making work in a way that hopefully others will enjoy reading. That, really, is the biggest mystery of all, finding out what makes readers come back.

Please go by their blogs and thank the amazing and wonderful co-hosts for the 

June 5 posting of the IWSG:

  Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, 

 and Madeline Mora-Summonte!

Guest Post Elizabeth Seckman and "Hoosier Dad" Release!

Sarah Andrews can hold her own in a courtroom, but when it comes to love, she’s 0-3 and Rich Cooper was her biggest loss to date. 

Hoosier Dad is available!

 Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords / kobo.com

Elizabeth is a mom, a wife, and the caretaker of far too many pets, all of whom her children swore they'd take care of. But they went off to college leaving fur babies in their place. She is a multi-published author of women's fiction and romance. 

Blog / Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

IWSG Happy May 1st!

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 Happy May 1st everyone! After doing the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I totally forgot that today was the first Wednesday of May!! So here is my post for the IWSG just a bit late, but still on the day, whew. Thanks to J.H. Moncrieff and Alex, whose blogs I follow, for reminding me.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are

Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca, and T. Powell Coltrin!

Please visit their blogs and thank them for co-hosting this month!

While doing the A to Z, I also managed to finish my current work in progress and sent it out to beta readers for opinions. Which, because I didn’t want to sit around worrying on whether it will be liked, I set to on the next project, which is revisions to a novel that is one in a series. I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m happy to make progress when I felt progress was going so slowly.

Now, on to the fun stuff! Which is two announcements from the IWSG website! The newest anthology has been released today, and the announcement for the next one has also been released today. I love a good news day!

Just released:

Masquerade: Oddly Suited - An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
Young Adult Fiction: Romance - General/Paranormal/Contemporary
Print ISBN 9781939844644 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844651 $4.99

Find Masquerade: Oddly Suited here - Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Goodreads

You can find out more about the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited here.

And the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited are hosting a live Q & A session on Discord! Join them on Sat 11th May from 1:00 pm EST / 6:00 pm GMT to find out more about the anthology and the contributing authors and ask any burning questions you may have.
The Q & A will be held on Discord. Please follow the invite link: HERE

The 2019 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions!

Guidelines and rules:

Word count: 3500-5000

Genre: Middle Grade Historical – Adventure/Fantasy

Theme: Voyagers

Submissions accepted: May 1 - September 4, 2019

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your full contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.

Hope you're enjoying Spring!

Photo by Buie-Collard