Darkest Day Cover Reveal

Darkest Day, Book three of the 19th Year by Emi Gayle.

Mac Thorne’s time as a Changeling is coming to an end.

It may have taken eighteen years, but Mac did finally manage to do what the Council wanted: she chose a teacher and renounced the in-between.

There’s just one last step. She must say goodbye to her human. Forever.

After being challenged in every way possible, Mac leaves what she thought would be the easiest task for the last possible moment. As midnight on July fourth draws near, though, she hasn’t found a way to give up Winn Thomas.

Nor does she want to.

With time running out, Mac stands at a literal crossroads.

Choose Winn, and she’ll be stripped of the only family she’s ever known—vampires, dragons, and her favorite demon. Even her own mother. Accept her position on the Council and rule as an equal to her twelve peers, and she’ll forget Winn ever existed.

Independence and freedom have never before been so limiting.

In this final chapter of the 19th Year Trilogy, it’s time for Mac to decide.

Responsibility? Or Love
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Book 1: After Dark
Book 2: Day After--Newish Release
Book 3: Darkest Day--to be released 6th January 2014
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Well, I'm back after a few weeks of being sick. Last week was particularly unfun in the flu department. I'm still not 100% but I'm getting there. Much rejoicing! At least now I'm fit enough to be writing and visiting everyone again.

How have you been lately? Read any top notch books you want to share? Achieved any goals you want to celebrate?

Why it's Good to Rush to Get Published

One of my regular tips to burgeoning writers is, don't rush to get published. Slow down, enjoy the process, learn the craft, get it right, indulge, experiment. And while I still stand by this advice, I'd like to emphasize it's also good to rush.

How is that even possible—to rush and not rush at the same time?

I'll start by explaining why it's good to rush:
Rushing to 'get published' gives us writers a sense of urgency. This urgency in turn gives us focus. We become more likely to finish that tricksy first draft. We're placed in a better mind frame to complete multiple edits. We push ourselves to learn those boring grammar rules because we want our stories to be the best they can be. The rush drives us to step out of our comfort zones, to meet other authors, network, attend conferences, join workshops, and take the rollercoaster ride that carries us from Hobby Station to Career City.

Of course, as part of that rollercoaster ride, we experience two opposing forces tugging at our senses—to rush, and not to rush. Very Hamlet. But before you start pontificating philosophical arguments to skulls, remember balance is key.

If your writing becomes a painful chore because you're not 'getting published', then you're rushing too much.

If you jump into self-publishing thinking you'll find overnight success without a professional edit or cover design, then you're in too much of a rush.

If, like me, you're down with a nasty bout of flu and you're getting frustrated because you're too sick to write and it's June already—JUNE, for goodness sakes!!!—then, well, that's part of the rollercoaster ride and you need to accept that sometimes life will throw you that curve ball and no matter how much you try to duck and weave, there ain't no avoiding it. Take the necessary time out and deal with whatever it is that's holding you back from writing. As a good friend said, "Your backbrain continues to hammer things out." In other words, the writer's mind never stops.

How do you deal with the crazies generated by the need to 'get published'?

This post was written for Alex J Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers' Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month. It's a fantastic supportive group. Come join us.

My apologies to my wonderful bloggy friends whom I haven't managed to visit recently, but I'm gonna go crawl back to bed. I will visit as soon as I can.

Happy writing. Happy rushing.

#IWSG

Lynda R Young

Good Writers' Habits: Make Backups

One irrefutable fact: you don't backup enough.

If you think manuscript01.doc and manuscript02.doc saved in the same folder is enough of a backup then you're in for a world of hurt. If you think multiple files saved in separate folders is enough, you're still going to get a taste of pain.

Computers house fickle little gremlins who have a nasty habit of deciding to cause crashes at the worst possible times. Keeping your manuscript on your computer, with no other copies anywhere else, is a huge mistake.

Not only can your computer suddenly fry, but something could happen to your house (heaven forbid), so store your work somewhere completely different.

• USB storage devices are clever but easy to lose
• CDs and DVDs aren't as durable or reliable as you think.
• Printing is durable as long as you don't lose the pages to termites, fire, water, pets etc. You get the picture.
• Dropbox is a free online service.
• Trusted critique partners are handy.
• The method I use: a smart IT husband who has set up an automatic backup system on 'the cloud' or whatnot. I don't understand it. It just magically happens.

Bonus tip: keep in mind that when a writing program releases an upgrade, it doesn't necessarily allow backward compatibility for all its previous versions. Always save your old files up to the new version to make sure you don't lose your older work.

You have been warned. Now go make copies of your work.

Have you ever had a bad experience where you've lost a portion or all of your manuscript? How do you protect your work?

A big THANK YOU to Alex J Cavanaugh. I received his awesome YOU ROCK award. This, and the kind words he said, made me very happy.

Dognapped?

Celebrate the release of Charmaine Clancy's new book and win prizes!

Dognapped? A dog show detective mystery featuring Kitty and her mischievous miniature schnauzer, Spade. In this adventure, they unravel the mystery of the missing dog -- simply lost, or something more sinister?

A lost dog 

A stolen dog

A mysterious will 

It all equals murder!

Meet twelve-year-old Kitty, friendless bookworm and amateur sleuth. All Kitty wants is to gain her mother’s attention, spend time with her miniature schnauzer Spade, and avoid Miss Perfect, Jessica Jones. 

Kitty’s world turns upside down when she finds a lost dog, and she needs Jessica’s help to find the owner, hunt down a dognapper, and solve a murder.

Introducing Kitty Walker and her mischievous dog Spade in the first Dog Show Detective Mystery.

Dognapped? is a mystery novel perfect for curious girls aged 10-12yrs. There are funny and cute canine characters, but also an element of danger! 

To celebrate the release of Dognapped?, the author, Charmaine Clancy (author of the popular kids' horror novel, My Zombie Dog), is giving away a Kindle Fire! (Kindle Paperwhite if winner resides outside the US - Amazon won't ship the Fire to non-US countries). That's not all, one lucky runner-up will receive a $25 Amazon gift voucher!

There are two ways to enter:

1. Purchase your copy of Dognapped?, then fill in the entry form below. You'll be asked for your receipt number from Amazon (it will be on the receipt Amazon email you - keep a copy of your receipt as proof of purchase if you win). Dognapped? will be FREE May 22nd and 23rd, and yes you can still enter if you downloaded your copy FREE! 

or

2. Blog about this competition or about Dognapped? (you can review, talk about or interview) then fill in the entry form below. You will be asked for your blog post link in the entry form. If you'd like to review the book, Charmaine will send you a free review copy, simply email: charmaineclancy@gmail.com. 

If you blog and purchase the book, then yes, you get two entries.

Too easy! This competition runs from now until 7 July 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best and Worst Movie Remakes

Hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson, and Father Dragon Al.

When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they remake older films. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it fails miserably.

There are so many remakes around and yet for the majority of them I prefer the ones I saw first. This doesn’t necessarily mean the original. For example:

King Kong: This was originally made in 1933 and again in 1976. I saw the 2005 version first and prefer it over the others, even over the 1933 version which was an amazing feat of animation for its time. Truly ground-breaking.

The Italian Job: I saw the 1969 version before I saw the 2003 version. The 1969 movie was hands down the best. Perhaps it was the humour, the cute boxy minis, or the way the original ended.

The Thing: This would have to be my favourite remake of them all. I’m talking about the 1982 film directed by John Carpenter and with Kurt Russel in the lead. It’s a remake of a 1951 film, The Thing from Another World. Unfortunately the film was remade again in 2011 and it lacked the same scary spark.

Conan the Barbarian: This would have to be my least favourite remake. I enjoyed the 1982 B-grade quality of the original. They didn’t take themselves too seriously but they did a good job. I think they tried too hard in the 2011 remake. Or maybe, as I hinted above, it was simply a sense of loyalty for the first one I saw.

Which are your favourite and least favourite remakes?

Thanks to Kriti for the Creative Blogger Award.
Pop on over to her blog, Just a Little Time, and say hi from me.

The Importance of Strategic Goals

During April, I received two blog awards: The Liebster Award from Suze of Subliminal Coffee, and the Very Inspiring Blog Award from Mel Chelsy of Writings, Musings & Other Such Nonsense.  As part of the condition of accepting the awards, I'm supposed to answer a series of questions and share seven things about myself. As anyone who's been following me for any time will know, I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to rules. Consequently I'll answer one of the questions and in the process share a little about myself. Suze asked the big question:

What are your goals?
When I first started writing seriously in my teens, my goal was to become a published author by seventeen. That age became twenty one. Then I gave up on age when that deadline slipped by as well. In my mind I became a failed writer. It didn't matter that I'd had short stories and art published in a variety of small magazines. It didn't even matter that I hadn't finished my manuscript. I thought I was serious about my writing and yet I hadn't achieved my goals.

Making manageable goals
So I changed my goals to something more manageable: Finish my manuscript. Before that point I'd been writing my manuscript off and on for seven years. It took me a further two years to finish it. My next goal was to get the wretched thing published. So without any industry knowledge, without the use of critique partners, and only one pass of editing, I sent it off to a total of nine publishers—all 600 pages of the thing (ah, the fearlessness of the ignorant). Not surprisingly I received only rejections and gave up.

All that glitters is not a goal
Many years later I came to realise that my goals weren't goals after all. They were wishes. A wish doesn't make things happen except in Never Never Land. Helpful goals are much like a business plan. Sounds boring, even painful, and lacks the magic of a wish, but a plan is far more effective.

Effective goals require a strategy

If I want [this] by [this date],
then I need to do [these] in [this] much time.

To write up a strategic set of manageable, measureable goals, I first needed to know what I wanted. I want to get published. Sure, but how do I want to get published? Authors have so many options these days: traditional, small press, self-publishing, agented or unagented. Even if I want to keep my options open, there are some things I first needed to do:

1. learn about the industry
2. learn about the craft
3. write a sellable manuscript
4. write the killer query
5. nurture my online presence
6. relearn to be fearless and send those queries
7. keep writing.

Each of the above points can be broken down further into a manageable strategy to achieve completion. And each point is a milestone. For example, finishing an outline is a milestone worthy of much rejoicing. If you're anything like me, you'll need your milestones. They give a great sense of achievement and they tell me I'm another step closer to achieving my dreams.

This post is getting long, so I'll stop there with a mere taste of what a true strategic plan looks like. Perhaps I didn't answer Suze question after all that, but I'm sure she'll forgive me.

What is your dream? How have you planned to make that dream come true?


Mel's book Adversarius, Shadow of the Rose: Book One is now available in paperback on Amazon

 

A-Z Reflections

This was the third year I took part in the A-Z Challenge. The first year I did an A-Z of writing tips. The second year I did an A-Z of photography, and this year I let my geek out. I had a whole lot of fun reminiscing about all the books, movies, TV and games that influenced me into the geeky person I am today. I think I may have surprised a few people.

In all honesty, I want to continue raving about those favourite stories and activities. I’m not sure yet how I’ll incorporate that into my blog, but time will tell. I’ll work something out.

The things I learned from the challenge:
1. Scheduling. When time is tight, which it invariably is during the challenge, setting up a regular routine to get everything done is essential. That means scheduling. It was the only way I got through the challenge.

2. Planning. Another essential element, closely related to scheduling. As the picture shows, I wrote up a list on a single page of my notebook. Sure, it’s messy, but that was all I needed. It gave me direction and focus. And it meant I wasn’t scrambling around in a tizz trying to work out what I was going to post about each day.

3. Comments. I learnt I could visit everyone on the blogsphere while also online playing World of Warcraft, specifically while waiting in queue for the next raid or dungeon. Who knew?! Talk about a brilliant revelation! That means I can get more writing done during the day!

4. Followers. I gained more than I expected since I didn’t go out searching for new followers during the challenge. That was a happy bonus!

Final thoughts about the challenge:
I still came across the word verifications. They tend to be an indication of bloggers who are new, since it’s something you have to go find and turn off. I also still came across super long posts. Some were fascinating so I didn’t mind, but others could’ve been shortened. By a lot.

My favourite during the challenge:
Clarissa Draper. Wow, girl! Your theme rocked! Sure it took a little extra time to work out those puzzles and codes, but it was like a treat at the end of the day. And to my absolute surprise, I squeezed into the top five of her visitors who correctly worked out the solutions. I won a $10 gift voucher for Amazon! Thank you so much, Clarissa!

How did you go during the challenge? What did you think of my theme? Any surprises?

#AtoZChallenge