Celebrate, Double Negative, Potluck Blogfest & Freebies

Okay, forget that whole Zen, existential, Bonsai tree thing I've been talking about for two weeks.  My WIP doesn't respond to tweaking and delicate pruning.  I had to whomp on Ch 7 and beat it into submission.  

My new motto is: 

"Fists of Revision Fury!" 

* Cue music - "Everybody was King Fu Fighting" *

This week I'm celebrating:
1)  I finished revising Ch 7 and am starting Ch 8.  Fists, don't fail me now!
2)  My awesome CP, T.F. Walsh, put her novel Cloaked in Fur on sale last week at 99-cents and it sold a lot!  Yay, Tania!
3)  My friend, the fabulous C. Lee McKenzie, is releasing a book today -- Double Negative -- read on for more info!

Does anyone ever feel they have to go ten rounds with their writing before they win?

Blurb:
Hutchison Mc Queen is a sixteen-year-old smart kid who screws up regularly. He’s a member of Larkston High’s loser clique, the boy who’s on his way to nowhere—unless juvenile hall counts as a destination. He squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. When that doesn’t work, he goes to Fat Nyla, the one some mean girls are out to get and a person who’s in on his secret—he can barely read. And then Maggie happens. For twenty-five years she’s saved boys from their own bad choices. But she may not have time to save Hutch. Alzheimer’s disease is steadily stealing her keen mind.

BUY LINK:   Evernight Teen

Find C. Lee McKenzie:

Website

Blog

Facebook Author

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International Potluck Blogfest

Beth Fred, Medeia Sharif and I are hosting the International Potluck Blogfest. Here are the rules:
~ Put the bloghop badge on your post.
~ Post the cover of a book you love (it can be your own) with a food and/or recipe from the book, a food from the MC's region, or a food you just like!
~ Link back to Beth, Media, and Lexa. All three of us.
~ A copy of Beth's Finding Hope, Medeia's Snip, Snip, Revenge, and Lexa's Soul Cutter, plus a $10 Amazon gift card will be given away via Rafflecopter!

I look forward to your foody posts. Sign up below. (If you have trouble with the Linky, Beth has one on her blog.)

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for July 25, 2014:

Free Query Critiques from Matthew MacNish. He writes full, detailed and helpful crits that appear on his blog. Contact him at: mattmrush(at)gmail.com
Free Short Story “Shadow of the Scythe” by Christopher Mannino, a prequel to his School of Deaths series from MuseItUp Publishing. Download it HERE

Free Novella “Worth the Effort - Ella's Story” a romance from Kai Strand  This will be free only from July 29 – 31 on AMAZON.
 

 


For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

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, Cloaked in Fur on sale & Freebies

Last week, in a naive moment, I compared revising to growing a bonsai tree, and I said I needed to "snip some here and let it grow bigger there."  Yeah, sure. Just a few subtle changes -- NOT!!  I had to prune Chapter 7 completely off the WIP tree and then rewrite from scratch. I'm about three quarters through, but now it's a first draft and will take even more time to revise.  *sigh*

This week I'm celebrating knowing when I need to "kill my darlings" and completely rewrite.

Do you ever start revising a chapter and realize it's better to start from scratch?

CLOAKED IN FUR 

is on sale!!

BUY:  Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, iTunes

Tania Walsh is a fantastic writer and 

her Paranormal novel rocks!

It's only 99-cents ~ you've got to buy it!!

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for July 18, 2014:
Free Fantasy Novella -- “Heart of a Dragon,” by Mary-Jean Harris, from her Soul Wanderers series pubbed by MuseItUp. (Download in PDF or ePUB --> HERE)

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

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 & Elspeth-The Living Dead Girl & Freebies

This week I'm celebrating:
1) I finished revising Chapter 6 and am starting on Chapter 7!
2) I've decided revising is like creating a Bonsai tree. I snip some here and let it grow bigger there, and it takes a lot of time and patience.  Hopefully, there'll be something beautiful at the end.  (Though I sometimes feel I'll be older than Mr. Miyagi by the time I get to the end...)
3) It's always fun to promo a fellow author's new release, so I'm happy to feature Stuart West's Elspeth, The Living Dead Girl below.

Do you like Bonsai trees?  Would you ever try to grow one?

BLURB:
If you’re dead already, can you die again? Elspeth’s been summoned from limbo. Her new assignment? Track down the culprit in the mysterious death of a student at Clearwell High. And incidentally, uncover the identity of the new drug dealer prowling the halls. Only one problem—the body she has to co-inhabit has a different agenda. Elizabeth just wants to be prom queen, marry Prince Charming, and graduate with perfect posture. Both girls, alive and dead, will have their separate worlds rocked before the killer is unveiled. Nothing is as it seems. No one can be trusted. Being dead has never been so dangerous.

BUY LINKS:         AMAZON         MUSEITUP

Stuart R. West

BIO:
After working as a graphic and production artist for the last 23 years, the company for which I labored shuttered its doors in July of 2010, finally allowing me the time and mental energy to tackle something that I'm passionate about.  

Elspeth, The Living Dead Girl is a spin-off from my YA series, Tex, The Witch Boy.

I'm married to a professor of pharmacy (who greatly appreciates that I now prepare dinner for her) and have a 21 year old daughter, who hasn’t yet decided what to do with her life. But that’s okay…it took me 25 years or longer.

 

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's  suggestions for Fri, July 11:
Free Kindle copy of SNIP, SNIP, REVENGE by Medeia Sharif via rafflecopter on Tome Tender (until July 20th), plus Medeia has a great guest post there!
Free Novels in a 21-eBook Giveaway by Untethered Realms via rafflecopter on Christine Rains Blog (ends July 31).
Free Paranormal Novels from Moonrise Bookblog via rafflecopter on T.F. Walsh's blog including her novel, Cloaked in Fur. (Ends July 14th)
Free Short Stories - LG Keltner’s 55-word story (the 2nd on the page) plus other 55-word stories at: New Times


Here are Foxy's suggestions for Fri, July 4:
Free Query Critiques by Kim Graff (editor, cover designer, & agent intern)

Free First Page Critiques by Dianne Salerni (author of The Eighth Day series, HarperCollins 2014) and Marcy Hatch (author of West of Paradise, WiDo 2014). Edit: Dianne says 3 spots are open for August!

Free Book Badges, Banners, and Countdowns at Ben Ellis Graphics

Free Book Giveaways from Toni Lesatz at My Book Addiction. (Contemp, Fantasy, and Horror book giveaways every week. See the current giveaway list on her sidebar.)

Free Copyright-Expired Books at Black Mask Free eBooks. (They're dated, but they're a fun change of pace and great if you're researching historical modes of speech and style.)

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

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: Fireworks & Freebies

This week I'm celebrating:
1) Happy Canada Day (belated) for all my Canadian friends, including my publisher and editor (Lea Schizas & Christine Speakman) at MuseItUp!
2) Happy Independence Day for all my American friends!
3) Happy Ramadan for my Muslim friends!
4) In case some of you don't fall into any of those categories -- I'm wishing you a Happy Weekend!

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions:

Free Query Critiques by Kim Graff (editor, cover designer, & agent intern)

Free First Page Critiques by Dianne Salerni (author of The Eighth Day series, HarperCollins 2014) and Marcy Hatch (author of West of Paradise, WiDo 2014). Edit: Dianne says 3 spots are open for August!

Free Book Badges, Banners, and Countdowns at Ben Ellis Graphics

Free Book Giveaways from Toni Lesatz at My Book Addiction. (Contemp, Fantasy, and Horror book giveaways every week. See the current giveaway list on her sidebar.)

Free Copyright-Expired Books at Black Mask Free eBooks. (They're dated, but they're a fun change of pace and great if you're researching historical modes of speech and style.)

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

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! 

IWSG: Time. Friend or Foe?

Time.  

We measure it precisely.

We think about it constantly.  

We save it enthusiastically.

We run from it, curse at it, 

and wish we could beat it into submission,

but Time is immortal.

I bet all of us wish we were further along with a project than we are.  Many of us say, "If only I had more time, more hours in the day..."  

Yes, time seems to be the enemy.  How dare it fly by so quickly when we have so much to do??

But time isn't always against us.  How often have you had something good happen unexpectedly because you were in the right place at the right time?  Like when someone just happened to pop up when you were online, and then became a treasured friend.  Or just when you suffered enough and were about to quit, a great opportunity suddenly came along.  Or when you didn't get the chance to do something important---and were so mad---but later came up with a much better idea of how to handle it.  Personally, I got an agent because I accidentally queried her just when she opened her agency and wanted clients. 

So next time you're wringing your hands and cursing time, remember that timing can work just as much for you as against you.  Time isn't the enemy.   So try not to stress about it so much!   When the time's right, it'll happen.  :)

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. Plus, check out the IWSG Website for lots of helpful info and links.