5 Benefits of a Pen Name #IWSG

Exciting News: I will be publishing a young adult fantasy adventure this year. I'm super nervous about it. It will be my novel debut. That's my insecurity revealed for this month. I've decided to take the pen name, Elle Cardy. For so many reasons:

1. My name, Lynda R Young, is super common and I get lost in the crowd. It is so common that I couldn't use it or a variation of it for gmail. It's why I use Lynfaw (faw = fearful and wonderfully, if you're curious).

2. It's shocking how many people can't get my name right. It's not a difficult name. Or you'd think. I get Linda, Lydia, and a bunch of other variations. Just yesterday I got Lydr. Say what, now? Also, my middle initial, which is crucial if I want to be found on Google, is so often left off when someone publishes my work or mentions me online. A little frustrating.

3. It's a long name which means it has to be small on book covers. Yes, I think about these things.

4. Young is at the end of the alphabet. Whoever thought a list in alphabetical order was fair had a name in the first half of the alphabet. Just saying ;)

5. I figured the name Elle Cardy was short, easy to remember, difficult to get wrong, and it separates my nonfiction writing from my novels so there's no confusion. There's also almost none of us on Google. Obviously I won't be hiding my true identity. The plan is that everyone who knows Lynda R Young will also know Elle Cardy and vice versa. I do have separate Instagram accounts though.

@LyndaRYoung for my macro photography.
@ElleCardy for everything books.


--
AntipodeanSF Issue 250 is now available in the paperback version. If you’d like your own copy, you can pick it up here. With over 50 stories, it is definitely worth checking out. Otherwise, just go along to the AntipodeanSF website to read the stories online for free for another month.
 --
June Reading

Red Rising by Pierce Brown -- this was beautifully written. I read it in two days, which for me is fast since I'm a particularly busy and a slow reader. It is set on Mars and is a dystopian. Think Hunger Games on Mars.

Stallo by Stefan Spjut -- this is a translation of a supernatural thriller written in Swedish. I would've liked to have read it in its original language because the translation is a little flat. But the story is awesome. It's the kind of book you settle in with under a blanket. It's about the mythical creatures of the woods that steal children and a woman searching for them. I loved it.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard -- Very similar to Red Rising in so many ways but instead of the Reds against the Golds, it's the Reds against the Silvers. The worldbuilding in this one isn't as rich as Red Rising, but the story is still enjoyable if you love typical young adult books.

NOTE: I am a judge for the 2019 Aurealis Awards. All my book reviews are my personal opinion and don't reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinators, or the Aurealis Awards management team.
--
Are you a huge fan of young adult fantasy? Let me know in the comments. What are your favourite books in that genre? Done any reading last month? What were the standouts?

This post was written for the IWSG. Every first Wednesday of the month the members post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG or want to learn more, then please go HERE

Note: The new look for my blog is temporary. I'm currently down with flu and it was the best I could do for now.

Writing when Life gets Impossible #IWSG

I wasn't going to post today, but then I noticed this month's IWSG question and I felt it was important to share my thoughts so that maybe I can help someone else.

When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?

My life has been filled with rain and storms and thunder for the last two and a bit years. You see, my brother was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND). Some of you might recognise it as ALS. There is no cure. It's probably the worst disease anyone can suffer through. It was why I moved up from Sydney to Brisbane--to be with David. Ultimately I became one of his carers. My writing took a massive hit. It's too easy to focus on the chaos, on the grief. Sometimes it's impossible to focus on anything but.

Over the two years, I learned how important it is to care for yourself especially when caring for another. A powerful and insistent part of who I am is my creative self. I needed an outlet and everything got harder if I didn't nurture that creative side. So on the days I could write, I wrote outlines and the beginnings of short stories. I wrote rubbish and mess and that was ok. I wrote hope. I created something new. On the days I struggled to dredge up something new, I edited. I pulled out my old manuscripts and read through them, discovering they weren't as bad as I first thought. As David's disease advanced, writing stopped altogether. I turned to photography because it required no brain power. I even joined Instagram! If you are interested in checking out my photos, you can find me @lyndaryoung

David passed away two weeks ago today. He is no longer suffering, but sheesh I miss him an awful lot. There is still rain in my life, but I can honor his memory by getting back to writing, by moving forward, by living a good and rich life. 
--
While you are checking out my photos on Instagram, also check out the IWSG on Instagram. We have an open photo prompt challenge there.

Winners and Schedulers #IWSG

Welcome to another year. Say cheese as it flashes by.

Time to announce the winners of the third annual IWSG Anthology Contest!

Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime.

Top honors go to Gwen Gardner for her story, A Stitch in Crime.

The other winning stories:
Gussy Saint and the Case of the Missing Coed - C.D. Gallant-King
Three O’Clock Execution - S. R. Betler
Until Release - Jemi Fraiser
Reset – Tara Tyler
Center Lane - Christine Clemetson
One More Minute – Mary Aalgaard
The Little Girl in the Bayou - J. R. Ferguson
The Tide Waits – Rebecca M. Douglas
Cypress, Like the Tree - Yolanda Renée
Special Mention: Heartless – C. Lee McKenzie


Thanks again to our official judges - Elizabeth S. Craig, Anne Hawkins, Candace Havens, Ion Newcombe, Patricia (Pat) Stoltey, and Mason Canyon.

--
Don’t forget our next IWSG Twitter Pitch Party – Thursday, January 18th

The IWSG is now on Instagram! 

--
This month’s question: What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing?

My pathetic answer: Nope. No steps have been taken as of yet... Nada. None. I do have hopes and dreams and they are currently an amorphous jellyfish. One day at a time is pretty much all I can do at the moment. If I manage to squeeze out 50 words in a day, it's a victory. I have by no means given up. I will hunt down my focus soon... but not yet.

How about you? What are your writing plans for this year?