Celebrate the Small Things: 8/30

I'm supposed to be celebrating small things, but all I want to do is whine ... so I'll try to whine in a celebratory way,  okay?

1) I got my line edits from my publisher last week.  Yay.  o_o
2) Doing line edits makes me appreciate the good old days of content edits.
3) I'm forging my way through and only occasionally want to poke out my eyes with a sharp stick.
4) It seems my line editor and I may subscribe to different schools of thought when it comes to grammar.  But hey,  at least we went to school.
5) In an effort not to think about line edits or stubbornly look up grammar rules,  I've been contemplating my new WIP and coming up with some good ideas!
6) Line edits have to end sometime ... don't they?

Does anyone have any words of wisdom about getting through line edits?

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 

Celebrate Small Things and Goodreads Complaints

I try to keep it light and fun on my blog, but today I can't.

In the past few years I've noticed people hiding behind the mask of avatars and spewing bigotry, insults, and hatred at others.  Sometimes, I see these things on Yahoo comments.  This week, I've seen a cruel anonymous letter sent to the grandmother of an autistic child, and I've heard about mean comments, mean replies, and trolling on Goodreads.  It makes me so angry I wish I could "do" something to the transgressors -- but, of course, I can't.  And if I did, I'd be no better than they are.

But ... am I really helpless?

No.

While I can't help find the anonymous letter writer who hates autistic children, there are places I can do something.  I can complain to the managers of the sites where I see abuse -- and you can, too.

On Goodreads, for instance, there's a way to flag abusive reviews, comments, or expletive-laden shelf names.  If you click "See Review" it will open into a new page.  At the bottom of the review and each comment is a "Like" button. To the right of that is a small, gray word -- "flag." Yup, it's tiny and pale ==> flag <== and can go unnoticed.  But if you hit this button, you can flag the offending content as abusive and explain why you think so.  

If enough people refuse to allow the haters to get away with abuse, and notify GR via these abuse flags, we can greatly diminish the nastiness and make GR a place where everyone feels welcome.


This week I'm celebrating being tolerant enough not to join in the vitriol or name calling and being conscientious enough to write a post, write an email, or hit that "flag" button so the haters don't get away with it anymore.



Have you noticed the "flag" button on Goodreads?  Will you use it if you see something abusive?

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!

Please Help Me Name a Character

The male MC in my new novel has no name, poor guy, and he's getting a little annoyed since he's been in two chapters already and has only been referred to as: guy, man, trucker, or cowboy.  Help me pick a name or he'll go on strike!

Bio: He's tall with sandy-colored hair, was born in Texas, and is a 30-year-old army veteran. He now drives a semi (18-wheeler) and is comfortable wearing a cowboy hat, boots and jeans. He's a smart and kind -- but is a loner ever since being injured in an ambush during his army days, and he trusts animals more than people. 

Please take the poll (on the side bar)  ============> 

Thank you!

Celebrate the Small Things: 8/16

Things I'm celebrating this week:

1)  The scary picture of the demon cat on my post last week did the trick -- I'm writing so he doesn't come get me!
2)  I've finished Chapter 4 in my WIP; that's about 10k words so far, and I'll be starting Chapter 5 tomorrow.
3)  My CPs are so encouraging.  They ROCK!
4)  Thanks to all my Facebook buddies for keeping me entertained during writing breaks ... sometimes so entertained that I don't go back to writing for quite a while.  Heh, heh, heh.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy week and much progress on your writing or whatever you're working on. :-)

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!

Cloaked in Fur Release & IWSG

Cloaked in Fur

Paranormal Suspense with Strong Romance

Released August 5th, 2013
Available now!

Synopsis:
          As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human.  Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible.  But she did.
          A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature.  She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast.  The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence.  But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.

Publisher: Crimson Romance

Buy CLOAKED IN FUR at these links:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

iTunes

Crimson Romance Books

Author: T. F. Walsh


T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband.  Growing up hearing dark fairytales, she's always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories.  She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.

Author Links:
Website 
Twitter 
Facebook
Pinterest

Goodreads

Tania is one of my brilliant CPs.  I read Cloaked in Fur several times as she worked to make it the best book possible -- and it is!  With a tough, impetuous heroine, exciting action, and a very romantic leading man, this book will delight anyone who loves Paranormal Suspense, Dark Fantasy, or Action/Adventure.  Buy it and see for yourself! ~ Lexa Cain

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Excuses why I'm not writing and my (better) self arguing!

Me:  It's too hot out.  I hate summer.
Myself:  That's why you have the air conditioner, dummy.
Me:  I have too many other responsibilities and not enough time.
Myself:  Waaa-waaa-waaa. Plenty of writers are busier than you and they're getting books written.
Me:  I'm not sure it's good enough.
Myself:  What? The empty screen isn't good enough?
Me:  No, I mean my WIP, my idea, my writing...
Myself:  If you don't keep going, you'll ever know.
Me:  But I've been writing a bit during the past month, and I didn't come close to my goal!
Myself:  Don't focus on what you didn't accomplish; focus on what you did.
Me:  But ... but ... but ...
Myself:  In the time you've wasted coming up with excuses, you could've written a page or two.  JUST DO IT!!

This is a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It exists so the community of blogging writers can share and support each other, blog-hopping to cheerlead and commiserate. To find out more, visit: Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Celebrate the Small Things: 8/2

No, that's not what I meant at all.

Delete, delete, delete...edit, edit, edit.

That's better, but still not quite right.

Delete, delete, delete...edit, edit, edit.

OK! 

Oops, a typo.

Delete...edit.

Done! 

Now, on to my next Facebook comment.

And I wonder why my WIP isn't getting done faster...

This week I'm celebrating:

1)  My content editor approved the changes and my novel, Soul Cutter, is off to the line-editor.
2) Despite being distracted by FB, I managed to finish the first chapter in my WIP.
3) I finally got over an awful cold, but that takes away my last excuse for not working harder ... darn it ...


Do you spend too much time on social media and wonder why your WIP isn't done yet -- or is it just me?

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!