Wednesday, March 1, 2017

#IWSG - News, news, and some other news!

March 1st? Already? Really? What is going on around here? Is this Barry Allen, AKA The Flash, screwing around with time again? Or worse, Hermione?

It's like 2016 couldn't end soon enough and now we're in March of 2017. It's mind-boggling.

Focus, Heather. You've got stuff to share.

Insecure Writer's Support Group

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.


Our awesome co-hosts today are Tamara Narayan, Patsy Collins, M.J. Fifield, and Nicohle Christopherson!


Optional March Question - Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out?

We have a lot of cool things in the works for our members, including another anthology opportunity and an upcoming Goodreads book club group.


Hashtag #IWSGPit
July 27, 2017, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time

All writers and authors are invited to participate in our very first Twitter Pitch. Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. On July 27, Tweet your pitch. If your pitch receives a favorite/heart from a publisher/agent check their submission guidelines and send your requested query. Many writers have seen their books published from a Twitter pitch - it’s a quick and easy way to put your manuscript in front of publishers and agents.

We invite all of you to join us that day! Authors with a publisher or agent, please ask if they would like to participate or pass along their contact information to the IWSG. We intend for this to be a twice yearly event, July and January, giving our members a great opportunity for publication. Help us spread the word!

See the IWSG Twitter Pitch page for details and a sample email to send to your publisher or agent.



New Swag!

Check out the IWSG Swag page for some cool new stuff, including mugs and erasers.

The tiny profit we make from sales of IWSG swag goes to fund opportunities to make the IWSG better for everyone and extend our reach. We recently created our own business cards and have other exciting options in the works.






Please support the next IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life, by signing up for the Thunderclap campaign.

The anthology authors are working hard to market the book. They’ve also set up a Hero Lost website, covering everything from the theme and genre to the stories and authors.
***

As for me...I've been stuck on the same last chapters of book three for months. It's beyond writer's block at this point.

And honestly, I can't say whether it's the writing that's the problem or if it's what I know happens after I type 'the end' that's the problem.

Whatever it is, I've psyched myself out of finishing my book.

The worst part? I think this is the best one out of the three and I can't share it with anyone.

I've been patient. And I've tried just about every 'fix' out there. Now, I'm just getting more and more angry. This is when I feel like a wanna-be. When I feel like a fraud.

One book was lucky. Two was a fluke. Three? Well, you don't get three.

I don't have the kind of personality to just walk away, so I'll have to finish it. I hope.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I hope you're all excited about the new IWSG ideas and announcements! There's always more to come!

HMG

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Cover reveal for Through the Ashes by Connie L. Smith!

Hello everyone!

It's Wednesday! Anyone have anything exciting going on? I hope so. :)

I'm a bit late with this cover reveal, so without further ado....

InkSpell Publishing author, Connie L. Smith!







Through the Ashes (The Division: Book Two)

By Connie L. Smith

Release Day: March 24, 2017

The war has begun. The battle’s unfolding. And victory feels so distant…

The Essenced had prepared and trained, but never imagined the true horror of watching demons tearing through the Division to invade the realm. Every claw is horrific—every snarl disgusting—and the responsibility of keeping that vile terror from expanding beyond the battlefield’s borders rests in the teenagers’ hands. They thought they were ready for that challenge…

But then their confidence is shaken when a deadly new weapon emerges from the enemy’s arsenal, and well-kept secrets from the Essenced’s angelic superiors begin to surface.
In the midst of the carnage, can the teens find the strength within themselves, and among themselves, to grasp victory in blood-tainted hands?


Pre-Order Links

The Division: Book One - Within the Essence


 

About the Author:

Connie L. Smith spends a decent amount of time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. Much of her preferred music is severely outdated, and as an adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either), and her MA in English and Creative Writing.

Websites:
 

Monday, February 13, 2017

Meme Monday!





I shouldn't be here.
I need to go do stuff.
But, I just wanted to say hello and share my new meme!

So...hello!

Have a great day!

HMG

Monday, February 6, 2017

Today is the day! #atozchallenge news!

It's Monday.

Let's write all the words today!

But, first!


Today was the big announcement for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.

Check the above link for all the amazing details, but I'll give a quick 'sum up' for those of you that are here.

This year, there will be no list.

Yep. We ditched it. It's crazy hard and time consuming to keep the list free of the riff-raff.

It was actually sucking the life out of us.

Here's our solution.

Each day you will post your 'Letter of the Day' on your own blog (like you always have) and then you also post a link to your 'Letter of the Day' in the comments of the matching 'Letter of the Day' post on the Main Challenge Blog.

You can also post that same link on the matching 'Letter of the Day' post on the Facebook page.

Then just share it as you usually would on other social media sites.

This way, you know, when you see a daily link from someone, they're actually, actively participating in the Challenge.

Sounds great, right?

Trial run will be the Challenge Theme Reveal on March 20, 2017. Even if you don't have a theme, you can steer people toward your blog to find out what you will be doing.

Don't forget to use the hashtags in your post titles!!!

#atozchallenge #atozreveal

Even if you don't do The Twitter, they still work on The Facebook.

Questions? Please, feel free to ask me or any of the 2017 A to Z Team members...

Founder:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing It Out

Members:
Heather M. Gardner @ The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
John Holton @ The Sound of One Hand Typing

J Lenni Dorner @ Blog of J. Lenni Dorner 


Seasoned Support Team:
Jeremy Hawkins @ Hollywood Nuts
Alex J. Cavanaugh @ Alex J. Cavanaugh

Friday, February 3, 2017

Cover reveal for Tainted by HC Harris!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thank you all for the kind words yesterday about joining the Insecure Writer's Support Group as an administrator.

Alex is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world and when he asks you to join him in a project, I can pretty much guarantee it's going to be awesome.

I'm honored to be a part of such an amazing group of people.

***

 
Cover reveal for InkSpell Publishing author, HC Harris!





Tainted
by HC Harris
 
 
Whoever said college was easy? Certainly not Faye Johnson! With shadow creatures stalking and hunting her from the depths of the darkness, Faye soon realizes that being a Light Soul and destroying the evil that lurks in the shadows, won’t make her freshman year any easier.
With the help of her wisecracking best friend Jack, Faye discovers that her ordinary life is about to change drastically. She has an ancient power that the darkness desperately desires. But being untrained, she can’t protect herself for long. That’s when Gabe, a dangerously gorgeous ex-Dark Soul enters her life - seemingly out of thin air.
Jack and Faye’s friendship is put to the test when she starts training with Gabe. Jack warns her that Gabe is dangerous, but she can’t seem to resist her electrifying feelings for him. Events become deadly when the Dark Souls attack and Faye discovers Gabe’s horrifying secret.
Can she count on Jack to be there for her? Can she trust Gabe with her life? Will she be strong enough to protect herself from the darkness that is desperate to kill her?
…And you thought college was easy.
 
 
Cover Design: Najla Qamber
Release day: 3-4-2017
 
 
About the Author:
H. C. Harris has been daydreaming, imagining stories, and composing music since before she could even write! She was born and raised in New Hampshire before moving to Burlington, Vermont for college. During her senior year at the University of Vermont, she discovered she had a passion for creating fantasy stories that transported her readers to mysterious and romantic places.
H. C. Harris shared samples of her work with her online audience. Fans have described it as, “addicting,” “a page-turner,” and “swoon-worthy.” With their encouragement, she submitted her work to publishing companies and is now contracted with Inkspell Publishing!
She currently lives in Hartford, Connecticut where she is working on her Master’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. She teaches Spin classes, loves playing the piano, drinking coffee and taking her German Shepherd and Black Lab for runs!
You can follow H. C. Harris on Twitter at: @writeforlifehch, on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/hcharris.tainted/ and follow her book updates on her personal website: www.hcharris.net