Monday, March 23, 2015

A Change of Mind by Nick Wilford, Reviving the Blog, and The AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal



As has been clear to anyone who has visited here, this blog has been on life support for months now. If not for the IWSG and promo posts for friends, I probably wouldn't have been blogging at all. My heart just hasn't been in it.

But a crazy thing happened this weekend. I was walking in the park with Clancy on Saturday morning and suddenly I was inspired to get back to the story I had intended to write for the second Untethered Realms anthology, Mayhem in the Air. I had abandoned any hope of finishing the story a few weeks ago as I couldn't focus on it any more than I could any other writing.

When I got home from the park all I wanted to do was write. I sat down and did just that for most of the day and I can't even say how great that felt. I finished the story yesterday morning and as soon as I did I wanted to write something else. And I wanted to blog.

I want to bring my blog back to life and I can't think of a better way to do that than by joining the AtoZ Challenge. So I just signed up yesterday and I'm so excited about it! This will be my fifth challenge and I know it will also be a great one. It's funny as I have been totally against joining the challenge this year since before the sign-up list was even posted but now I've done a complete 180. It feels so good to actually want to blog again!

When I first started this blog I listed several favorite quotes and many of them remain on the side of the page. I've always loved quotes so for this year's AtoZ my theme is going to be favorite quotes, with photos to go with them.

I'm looking forward to checking out everyone's themes and also to celebrating another crazy April with you all!

We are also going to be doing the challenge as a group over at Untethered Realms, so visit us there for quick and fun teasers from our various books and stories.


I'm also excited to be sharing the cover for Nick Wilford's upcoming release, A Change of Mind and Other Stories. Congratulations to Nick!!

Here is all the info on the book:

Title: A Change of Mind and Other Stories
Author: Nick Wilford
Genre: Contemporary speculative fiction
Cover Design: Rebekah Romani
Release Date: May 25th 2015

A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine.

In A Change of Mind, Reuben is an office worker so meek and mild he puts up with daily bullying from his boorish male colleagues as if it’s just a normal part of his day. But when a stranger points him in the direction of a surgeon offering a revolutionary new procedure, he can’t pass up the chance to turn his life around.

But this isn’t your average surgeon. For a start, he operates alone in a small room above a mechanic’s. And he promises to alter his patients’ personality so they can be anything they want to be…

In Marissa, a man who is determined to find evidence of his girlfriend’s infidelity ends up wondering if he should have left well alone.

The Dog God finds a chink in the armour of a man with a megalomaniacal desire to take over the world.

In The Insomniac, a man who leads an obsessively regimented lifestyle on one hour’s sleep a night finds a disruption to his routine doesn’t work for him.

Hole In One sees a dedicated golfer achieving a lifelong ambition.

The Loner ends the collection on a note of hope as two family members try to rebuild their lives after they are torn apart by jealousy.

Bio

Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working, he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. Nick is also the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. You can find him hanging out on his blog or on Goodreads or Twitter.

Preorder Links: Amazon US, Amazon UK

41 comments:

  1. Hi, Julie, glad your doing the Challenge. It always feels like madness to me, but I do it anyway.

    Congrats to Nick. The stories do sound intriguing.

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  2. Oh! And so happy you shook off the blahs. I've but back on blogging too, but that's because I have other stuff going on.

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  3. Hi Julie and Nick - love the concept for his stories and the cover I see everwhere .. saying everyone's changing their minds - most disconcerting!!

    So delighted you're doing the A-Z .. and that Clancy was your creative force ... cheers Hilary

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  4. Yay for being reinspired! And congrats on finishing your story. I didn't take part in the A-Z last year, but it was reading everyone's posts that brought me back to blogging.

    And thank you for hosting my reveal today!

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  5. That's awesome you're back into the writer's saddle again. :) Good luck with the Challenge. And yay for Nick!

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  6. Julie, that's awesome you were inspired to write! The Challenge is a great way to kick life back into your blog. Glad you signed up and look forward to the quotes.
    And congratulations to Nick.

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  7. I love your theme. I used to cover my school folders with quotes from songs, films, books and plays we were studying - I still have them tucked away somewhere. Glad you're back in the writing groove :-)

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  8. I adore quotes! And I'm so glad you've gotten your writing mojo back. :)

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  9. So glad that you're doing the Challenge! It's great that you're feeling inspired again :)

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  10. Yay for you and yay for Nick, too.

    I'm so happy that you now feel inspired to write again. I know that feeling. It's wonderful! Enjoy :)

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  11. Thanks, all! I'm still doing the happy dance over feeling inspired again and actually doing something LOL. And you are more than welcome, Nick - my pleasure!

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  12. I'm so glad you'll be doing A to Z again this year, Julie! Great idea for a theme! I love how your change of heart corresponds with Nick's release! Congrats to Nick!

    Julie

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  13. Congrats to Nick as it sounds like a great book and congrats to you! You sound like you have your mojo back:) Looking forward to your A to Z

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  14. Julie: I think we all go through this dry spot with our writing. I wanted to work on Killer Stilettos today. But I've been battling fatigue so I opted to read and comment on blogs.

    Glad you finished your story and posted to your blog.

    Hugs and chocolate!

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  15. Quotes are awesome. What a fun theme to go with! Also, congrats on all the inspiration! I know how it feels to have anything creative seem like pulling teeth, so I'm glad you finally escaped that rut. Best of luck writing, whether it's stories or blog posts! :)

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  16. Excellent theme! I'm glad your muse is back!

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  17. Julie -- Glad you are doing the challenge. I love good quotes.

    Yvonne

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  18. Can't do the challenge. Maybe next year.

    All the best to Nick.

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  19. See? That's exactly right. Take a hike/walk whenever you're sure you want to quit. I've been saying that for years.

    Great news! Hurray.

    Congrats to Nick. He obviously took a hike and look what happened? New book.

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  20. I do love a good quote. I even filled two journals with quotes, starting in high school. Great theme!

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  21. Congrats on finishing your story! Best of luck with the Challenge. :-)

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  22. I love quotes. What a great idea for an A to Z challenge. I'm really looking forward to this.

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  23. Good for you! I'm glad you got your writing mojo back. Mine is taking a nap. Have fun with the A-Z. I really like the idea of using quotes as your theme. Like the past couple years, I'll be wimping out on the challenge again this year and taking the month off from blogging. (And maybe taking a nap or two...)

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  24. Oh so happy for you and your renewed desire to write and blog! I think we all go through moments like this and sometimes they last longer than others. It always feels so wonderful when the love comes back! Congrats and looking forward to reading your A to Z! Thanks also for the intro to Nick Wilford...

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  25. So happy you got your writing bug back. Loved your A-Z posts of the past. Always fun and informative.

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  26. Favorite quotes? That sounds like the perfect theme. Go for it!

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  27. I love quotes!
    The challenge is addictive! This will be my 5th A to Z...

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  28. I always love a good quote. That will be a fun theme. I'm excited for your renewed inspiration.

    Congrats to Nick on his new release!

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  29. Julie, why stop now? Favorite quotes is a great theme. best wishes for the Challenge to you!

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  30. YAY Julie! I'm so glad you're feeling inspired to write and blog again. It's SUCH a good feeling. I know it never feels like it when you're going through a rough patch, but that feeling always comes back when it's ready. Just in time for the challenge, too!! :)

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  31. I know you've had a lot going on, but I'm so happy to hear that you are writing again. That really helps me. And looking forward to your A-Z challenge! Nick's book sounds good. Pre-ordered my copy.

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  32. Good to see you back, Julie. See you in the A-Z!

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  33. Fifth challenge? Wow! This is my 4th year :) Time flies! Thanks for the visit! Have a great challenge!

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - The crazy thing about Hungarians...

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  34. Glad you found your writer mojo again. Congrats to Nick!

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  35. Great to see you back!

    Grats to Nick! I've been seeing him everywhere.

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  36. That's so great to hear - I know what it's like to suddenly find the drive to get back to a story, and I'm glad that happened for you. ^_^ Hope the challenge goes well too.

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  37. Congrats to Nick!!!!

    Julie, glad to hear you muse returned and working magic!!!

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  38. Wow, 5 times participating in the challenge! This will be my 3rd! Hope it inspires you to keep on blogging after April! Good luck!

    betty

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  39. Hi Julie, glad you are doing the A to Z Challenge. I won't be able to join this year.

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