May IWSG

Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.

The question for May 2 is: It's spring! Does this season inspire you to write more than others, or not?

            My answer is no, not really. I have a harder time concentrating in the warmer months during spring and summer. There seem to be more distractions and I cannot sit still for more than ten minutes at a time. In the winter, or other cold days, it is easier for me to stay still and focus on one thing for a while. I enjoy a warm blanket and a cat on my lap (which, in my opinion, is one of the most comfortable writing positions) as I write, and that does not work very well once it starts getting warmer. I do tend to gather more ideas during spring and summer. I usually try to keep a notebook, or at least my iPhone notes, on hand to take down any interesting interactions I observe as people and animals take part in various outdoor activities.

            Spring also tends to put me in a spring cleaning mode, which adds to my lack of concentration because I’m constantly going over my to-do list in my head. Really, it seems that spring and summer are busier because there are more activities going on as people find their way back outside. Personally, I enjoy the outdoors better in the winter when there are fewer bugs and a chance of snow. I guess I’m getting a bit off-topic discussing my weather preferences. Back to my writing, I cannot believe April is already over! I don’t know where it went. I think I spent most of the month (when I wasn’t stuck at work) reading, listening to audiobooks, or working on online courses. So, that counts as writing research, right? 😉

IWSG: Reading as a Writer

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. The IWSG poses a question for us to answer in our monthly posts. Here is the question for February:

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

            Even though time has escaped me more often than not in the last few years, I will always love reading. I was the 10-year-old who huddled up next to a night light, past my bedtime, in order to read “just one more chapter”. Since then, I could not tell you how many times I’ve used that same line in the middle of the night. When I find a good book, I like to escape in the simple pleasure of reading. I could almost turn this question around to ask: How has reading shaped my experience as a writer? Reading is part of my motivation because I would love to be able to write one of those books people can escape into. My insecurity also stems from that, because I feel incapable of writing such a book. One thing that I will say in answer to this month’s question is that I sometimes use reading as a tool. I went through a dry spell with reading for a couple years; I just could not find a book worth diving into. As I got more involved with blogging and writing fiction, I got back into reading again. Reading a variety of authors and genres is an excellent form of research. It is helpful to see how others write and the techniques they use. Recently, I have also found a new addiction in audiobooks. Listening to a book allows you to enter a story through a different sense and it is a convenient way to “read” while driving, which is sometimes the only time I get to myself. I was stuck on descriptive details when I was writing my fantasy story until I listened to The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks for a few minutes. Of course, I still enjoy the moments of quiet when I can just sit and read, and if writing inspiration comes, I welcome it gladly!

If I Were a Mobster Blogfest

Today, I’m participating in Chrys Fey’s If I Were a Mobster Blogfest. She decided to do a blogfest to celebrate the release of her latest novella, 30 Seconds Before. I thought this sounded like fun and it was also a great opportunity to practice character creation. Here is my mobster:

Mobster Name: Joanie Fiotta

Rank: The hacker/undercover agent

Crime Zone: Orlando, Florida

Look/Disguise: Operating from the shadows and a master of disguise, Joanie can create any identity she wants for herself and her partners.

Weapon of Choice: Computer

Mobster Vehicle: The most technologically-advanced vehicle available, like the Batmobile, except less obvious.

What She’s Known For: She is able to hack into complex systems and create new identities. She can supply passports and get her cohorts wherever they need to go, including overseas locations. She also excels at undercover field work because of her keen observation skills.

Catch Phrase: “Don’t worry boys, I can hack this!”

---

            I read Chrys Fey's 30 Seconds and I liked it. It was action-packed and had some interesting twists and turns. And, guess what? She has it on sale for 99 cents until Nov. 4! Now, I'm turning this post over to Chrys:

30 SECONDS BEFORE BLURB:

Blake Herro is a cop in the Cleveland Police Force. Ever since he was a child he wanted to do right by the city he loved by cleaning up the streets and protecting its citizens. Red, a notorious mobster, has other plans.

On a bitter December night, ten police officers are drawn into a trap and killed by Red’s followers. Blake wants to bring down the Mob to avenge his fallen brothers and to prevent other cops from being murdered. Except the only way he can do that is by infiltrating the Mob.

Every minute he’s with these mobsters he’s in danger. Around every corner lies the threat of coming face to face with a gun. Will he make it out of the Mob alive or will he be their next victim?
 

 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US / Amazon UK /  Amazon CA

NOOK / KOBO / The Wild Rose Press

To celebrate, 30 Seconds, the follow up story, is on sale for 99 cents!

Sale Oct. 21^st – Nov. 4th

SALE LINKS:

Amazon / The Wild Rose Press / NOOK / KOBO

BIO:

Chrys Fey is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series (Hurricane Crimes and Seismic Crimes), as well as these releases from The Wild Rose Press: 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter


 

Now please hop around to the other participants:

Question of the Month and Happy 4th of July!

           

 

            The Question of the Month is a bloghop that occurs the first Monday of each month and it is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. Michael posed a great question this month that I really enjoyed answering. It was fun to reminisce on my reading memories. Here it is:

“What was the first book (or book series) you really fell in love with?”
 

            As I thought back over my many years of reading good books, I would have to say the first book I really enjoyed was also one of the first chapter books I read and it ultimately helped me to learn to really love reading. It was actually the fifteenth book in The Babysitter’s Club series by Ann M. Martin titled Little Miss Stoneybrook ... and Dawn. I was probably around nine or ten years old and saw it at a used book store. My parents said I could pick out one book. Most of the books looked old, boring, and worn out to me since I still judged books by their covers at that time. But that book stood out because it was a little newer and it had a pink border and spine, which was my favorite color back then. Before reading it, I had never read a book from a series, so the fact that it was the fifteenth book made no difference to me. After I read it, I experienced that longing for more of the story. I have since experienced that longing many times in books I’ve read, but that time was special because it was my first encounter with the desire to read more! I begged my mom to sign me up for the Scholastic Babysitter’s Club monthly book club when I first found out about it at school and received and read the first twelve books in the series. I liked the stories because each of the main characters were unique with diverse backgrounds and they were near my age. They may have also planted the seed of an interest in working with children, which lead to my major in elementary and early childhood education in college. I remember I would curl up in the floor next to my nightlight to read the series after my parents shut the lights out for bedtime and read multiple chapters before finally climbing back into bed. It was the beginning stages of my night owl bookworm habits that still continue to this day :)

 

            In other news, Happy Independence Day to my American friends! My town did their fireworks Sunday night, and keeping to my night owl tendencies, I am finishing this post up and hoping the internet will be agreeable at this fairly late hour. I will probably be spending some time with friends and family today with Independence Day celebrations and tomorrow for my birthday, so I’m not sure if I will manage to squeeze any blog visits in before my IWSG post on Wednesday, but I will try to catch up later this week!

Happy Independence Day!

Flashback Friday: The Beginning of a Writer's Journey

**This post is a part of the new Flashback Friday series. Participants use the last Friday of each month to repost an old post that needed more attention, that you're very proud of, that you think is still relevant, etc. It is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino at A Life Examined. This is my very first Blogger post from September 19, 2010.**

 

 

The Beginning of a Writer's Journey

 

I went to the ladies retreat with my church this past weekend and I came across this sudden inspiration to write. I guess in God’s eyes, it’s not sudden at all, He knows all the seeds He has been planting over the years. I think the very first seed was planted back when I was in 6^th grade in Arizona. Through my class' writer’s workshop I first learned about the writing process and different types of poetry, and I found out that I really liked writing. During jr. high and high school, I didn’t get the same enjoyment from writing for my classes, except in my 11^th grade English class with the writing portfolios we kept. I did start keeping a diary on a semi-regular basis during high school, and have written in it on and off since then. Those were more seeds for my inspiration. In college, writing became more of a chore, there was always something that needed to be written about in every class, and even many of my exams were essay tests. I started to get tired of writing so much and began to, as they say so nicely, “BS” my way through many of my reflections and reports. Despite these strained feelings toward writing, seeds were still planted from others. My professors would remark on how thoughtful and well-written my reflections were. There was a fellow student who asked me to help write a skit for a group project because she heard I was a good writer. My friends sometimes commented on my cards or emails being inspiring. But at that point in my life and even up until about 2 years ago, I didn’t feel like an inspired, good writer.

Part of my inspiration to write comes from reading good, engaging books. A couple years ago, I hadn’t read anything for a while, and I decided to start back up again. I picked up one of Karen Kingsbury’s books at the library and had no idea what I was getting myself into. For those who haven’t read her books, Karen takes you into her stories in a way that makes you feel like you’re a part of them. I feel like the Baxters are real people who I know personally. There are many other good authors, but the reason I was drawn to Karen’s stories was because those were the types of stories I wanted to write back in the 6^th and 11^th grades. Realistic fiction: that was the genre I was drawn to; inspiring stories of things that could happen in everyday life. Reading her books revived my desire to write. I started collecting ideas for books or stories by making lists in notebooks, on my computer, in my phone…I had so many ideas floating around that I became overwhelmed with them and had no idea where to begin. So I procrastinated and still did not feel motivated to write, at least not publicly.

Finally I find myself back where I started: with the retreat (everything written beyond my first sentence above was just background information…) The theme was “A Legacy to Remember.” Beforehand, I didn’t really feel like I had a legacy to leave, and being without a husband or children, I had nobody to leave it with. But, God was already preparing my heart for what I’d learn over the weekend. I read a devotional story right before I left on Friday. It was about a girl’s grandmother who wrote thousands of letters to her children and grandchildren throughout her life. It says, “Part of Gram’s legacy was how she lived her life, but part of it, too, was the words she left with us all—words that became an extension of the woman who penned them.” I reflected on the fact that this story mentioned a legacy, which just happened to be the theme of this retreat I was about to leave for. I also began thinking about how much I would love to write more to encourage my friends and family. During the retreat, so many women talked about the legacies that have been passed down through the generations of their families. But, what I noticed the most was the many times writing was involved. Twyla read a story she wrote when she was younger; Darla mentioned the importance of keeping a journal of your thoughts and reflections; Sara brought journals from her experiences in Germany and Mexico. I came to the realization that maybe writing could become my own legacy. After all the encouragement and inspiring moments over the years, my spark was finally ignited. So, I am beginning a journey, one that I plan to share with my friends and family. I don’t really know where this journey is taking me, but I know that I plan to continue on. I want my words to leave a legacy in someone’s life. I don't know if my writing is really that good or not, but I hope these writings are uplifting to those who wish to bear with me through these beginning steps.