IWSG & Returning To Blogging

Hello, friends! After taking a few months off I am excited to be jumping back into the blogging pool. I hope this new month finds you all well and that you are all happily engaged in lots of writing or blogging projects. I'm happy to say that I'm writing fairly regularly again after nearly a year of doing a whole lot of nothing so I hope that will continue.

Today is the day for the July meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group. The group was founded by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. To view list members and this month's co-hosts, visit the IWSG page here.

Each month the IWSG administrators suggest a question to answer in our post for the month. This month's question is:

What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

This one is an easy one for me to answer! Like me, my protagonists all either have pets or love animals. Danny, the protagonist in my Polar books, has a dog named Sox. Several of the characters in The Ghosts of Aquinnah love animals. And I am currently working on two WIPs and in both stories the protagonists have cats. 

I didn't actually do this intentionally when I started writing but it just came naturally. I couldn't help but insert my favorite guys into my stories in various ways!

My dog Clancy

My cat Nate

The only rule I have about animals in my books is that none of them get harmed or killed. I know this is a bit twisted since people get murdered in all of my stories but I can't help it. I am one of those people who will watch violent movies or shows with little to no emotion, then sob like a baby if an animal ends up dead.

I am looking forward to reading everyone's posts and with luck making a few new friends as I hop around as well. It's great to be back in the blogosphere.

To my American friends, Happy 4th of July!

December IWSG: My Writing Space

Hello, friends! Today is the day for the December meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group. The group was founded by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. To view list members and this month's co-hosts, visit the IWSG page here.

This month's IWSG question is:

                 What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?

I am cheating a little here because I don't really have five objects in my space, unless you count things like lamps. My writing space is my living room couch and the only writing-related object I have there is my laptop, when I'm writing on it. 

Even though it's a bit boring, I love my writing space because I share it with these two handsome guys. 

If you've followed this blog for any length of time you probably already know my dog Clancy and my cat Nate. These two are both eleven years old and they have been along for the ride on every step of my writing journey since they came to live with me. 

One is the boss:

The other is the annoyed colleague who really just wants to sleep:

The Ohio State throw that Clancy is trying to use as his pillow there is a third constant in my space. 

So that's my writing space - my couch, my laptop, my throw, and my two furbabies. So I guess I do have five things to list, even though Clancy and Nate aren't things. Like I said, I'm cheating a little. 

I hope to spend a good part of December on my couch writing and I'm counting on boss Nate to get after me if I start slacking off. I didn't finish NaNo, or even come close, but I did make progress on my story so I'm hoping to continue with that this month and finish off the year on a productive front. 

I am looking forward to catching up with everyone after taking last month off. Happy December! 

Celebrating Clancy the Clown and Charlene the Star

Hello and Happy Friday from my dog Clancy the Clown and me! We are ready to celebrate the weekend.

Doesn't he look like a stuffed animal here? :D 

Friday is the day to Celebrate the Small Things and today I'm celebrating Clancy's adorable clown costume! This costume used to be mine - I wore it to a Halloween party back in the 1990s. My mom found it in a drawer at her house and we decided to see if Clancy would wear it. He normally has a fit even from the bandanna the groomer puts on him, so I wasn't hopeful, but he not only agreed to wear the bow tie, he also went along with wearing the hat!

Clancy got some cheese for his efforts and I got a great laugh - the best I'd had in weeks. So that's why I'm celebrating my four-legged clown. :)

I'm also celebrating another adorable animal, Charlene the horse. Isn't she a beauty?

Charlene the Star was written by my friend Deanie Humphrys-Dunne, and I was lucky enough to be able to read an advanced copy of the revised edition. This is a wonderful story with great life lessons for kids and adults alike.

Charlene was born into a racing family but she doesn't want to race. Feeling embarrassed and out of place when she can't run as fast as the other horses, Charlene wants to find a place where her own gifts can shine. Without spoiling the story, I'll just say that she does. And she finds a sweet dog best friend as well.

Since it took me more than forty years to figure out that I wanted to write, I could relate to Charlene's struggle to fit in and to figure out what she wants to do with her life. I'm sure many children will recognize their own doubts and fears in Charlene's story. Congratulations to Deanie on a job well done!

The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.

Kicking off the 2017 Friday Celebrations!

It's the first Celebrate the Small Things hop of 2017! Happy Friday, everyone!

Even though this was a short work week because of the New Year's holiday, it somehow felt like the longest week in history. It's so hard to get back to normal after the holidays.

So I'm celebrating that it's the weekend, plus a few other things.

1. I finished writing my sequel to Baby Moo's Great Escape. I still have tons of revising and editing to do but at least I got the story down. I'm excited to be moving closer to getting Baby Moo and his friends back out into the world again for another adventure.

2. I also got my new All In For Animals site up and running and I'm really excited about it! Huge thanks to everyone who stopped by there after reading about it on this blog.

3. We got a little snow yesterday for the first time this winter. It wasn't enough to cause any problems, but it was more than enough to make my dog very happy. Clancy LOVES snow and he is ecstatic every year when the first snow comes around. He gets so excited when we go outside it's adorable. Seeing my dog so happy makes me happy, so I'm celebrating a happy pup!

The only time he wasn't happy was when I pestered him for a picture. :D 

The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.










I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ahead. :)

Friday Celebrations

Hello and Happy Friday!!

If it's Friday that means it's time for the Celebrate the Small Things hop. This week I'm celebrating:

1. I had a great time as always with the wonderful Tara Tyler at the Mad Anthony Operation Pumpkin bookfest last weekend in Hamilton, Ohio. We sat outside on Saturday and couldn't have asked for a better autumn afternoon. Best of all, we both sold quite a few books. Can't beat that!

2. The above pic of my poor Clancy was taken in August when he was recovering from surgery for a torn ACL. Just when we thought his troubles were in the past, he tore the meniscus in the same leg a few weeks ago. So he had to have another surgery and, to his total dismay, he had to wear the cone again. But today he is getting his stitches out!! He seems to be doing great, so I am hoping and hoping and HOPING that this will finally be the end of his troubles. Fingers crossed he can go vet-free for the rest of 2016!

3.

Baby Moo's Great Escape is part of the SCBWI Book Blast, which is running until November 18. This is a fun event showcasing hundreds of books for teens and kids, from both traditional and independent publishers. I had a good time making my page for the Blast and I'm excited to be part of it. 

4. And speaking of Baby Moo, I'm still celebrating that the book got a five star review from the Readers' Favorite site a few weeks back. The review totally made my day for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the reviewer wrote that the book "teaches a child at a very young age that animals have feelings and need to be nurtured and loved." Everyone who visits here knows how much I love animals, so if my book helps to send that kind of message to a child I couldn't be prouder. If you're interested in the rest of the review just visit the Reader's Favorite site here. 

What are you celebrating this week? Happy weekend!

The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants

Friday Celebrations & A Release Date for Baby Moo

Happy Friday, all! It's time once again to look back on the week and Celebrate the Small Things. The Celebrate hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.

I didn't think I'd end up getting this post written as I have to admit that I haven't been in the mood for celebrating. My dog Clancy had to have surgery for the second time this summer - he tore the ACL in this right back leg in July and then tore the one in his left leg in August. He's been in lots of pain and it breaks my heart to see him having so much trouble. It's also been a serious drain on my bank account! Then to top it off I ended up sick this week and still don't really feel like doing much of anything but crashing on the couch.

But then I remembered that one of the great things about this hop is that it gives us the chance to think of the good things even when we're having trouble focusing on anything but the bad.

So this week I'm celebrating:

1. Clancy is recovering very well and we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. He is set to get his stitches out on Wednesday and I hope that will be the last time he and I see the vet for quite a while.

2. My co-workers very generously came up with a plan to cover for me so that I could relax and focus on getting better this afternoon and tomorrow instead of working as originally scheduled. This is a huge benefit because our university starts school on Monday and this will be a busy weekend there. I was so grateful that they made these arrangements without me even having to ask.

3. I have a release date for my children's book Baby Moo's Great Escape! The book is scheduled for release on September 8 and I can't believe how quickly that will actually be here. I'm not going to put together a full blog tour for this release but I would be so grateful to anyone who would be willing to just give the book a shout-out any time September 8 or later! If you are interested in doing that please just leave a comment and I will send you the info when I have it. Thanks!!

I am going to try to get caught up on my blog reading this weekend, I know I have fallen behind. Hope all is well in your worlds!

W is for Warm

Clancy

Happiness is a WARM puppy ~ Charles Schulz

And a warm middle-aged dog. :)

I'm also at Untethered Realms today with a short teaser from Polar Day. Visit me there for W is for Witchcraft. 

L is for Loved

Nate & Clancy not long after they first met

"Until one has LOVED an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

Enough said. :)

IWSG and A is for Animals

It's April and the start of another A to Z Challenge. This is round number five for me and I'm excited to kick off my A to Z of favorite quotes. I'm also happy to start the alphabet with one of my favorite subjects. What else could I pick for A but animals?

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms" ~ George Eliot 

This has long been one of my favorite quotes even though I'm not sure how true it is. My Clancy has no problem being critical, and letting me know just how he feels, when I keep making him sit to have his picture taken. 

And as for Nate, being a cat, passing criticisms is basically part of his DNA. ;) 

Still, the quote captures the beauty of our relationships with our animal friends and just how lucky we are to have them in our lives.

We are also doing the A to Z Challenge over at Untethered Realms. Stop by there all month for quick and fun teasers from our books!

Of course, the first Wednesday of the month means it's also IWSG day. IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J Cavanaugh and gives all of us a chance to air our insecurities or lack thereof each month in a supportive and encouraging environment. If you're not already a member and would like to join in, just click here and add your name to the list!

I'm happy to be able to say that I am not really struggling with any insecurities this month. A total miracle! But I am still feeling excited about writing and blogging again and I think my months-long slump really is over, so I'm happy about that. I think April is going to be a great month. :) 

Happy April, all! 

A 99 Cents Sale & Changing Things Up

All of my books, including the just released Polar Day, are on sale for 99 cents this week on Amazon Kindle. You can find a link to each book, as well as the other Ink Smith books on sale, at the Amazon sale page here. If you're interested in any of my books now is a great time to check them out. :)

Also, it's no secret that I've been in a major slump and haven't been able to get any writing accomplished in months. I seem to just be constantly distracted by various things in my life and I can't focus.

So I thought instead of continually beating my head against this wall I've found myself at I'd try focusing on some different kinds of writing for a while and see if that can help me get some motivation back.

To that end, I signed up to help with the Be the Change for Animals site and write for their action alert newsletter. I thought this would be a good way for me to get back to writing about one of my original interests while also learning about causes I can write about in more depth either here on my blog or elsewhere. I'm excited to get started with the project.

I also went to a meeting last weekend of the regional chapter of Sisters in Crime and I really enjoyed it. The chapter is small and they are looking for help with writing content for their blog and website, something I said I would be glad to try. It will be a totally new experience for me to work with something like this and I'm looking forward to trying my hand at it.

So I'm hoping that trying some new things will help jump start my writing and I can get back to enjoying writing and blogging again. I also hope to take Clancy on some little day trips now that the weather seems to have finally turned a corner, as I would love to go back to the Travels With Clancy posts I used to do. I don't know how much Clancy will enjoy more trips but I know I will. I have a feeling he won't like the idea at all.

I think I got it in my head that I had to write another book immediately and when I couldn't do that I simply became discouraged and couldn't focus on writing anything at all. I realize though that I was being silly and it would make more sense to enjoy what I do have instead of worrying about what I'm going to do next. I have several book signings and conferences coming up this year and, unlike last year when I was a nervous wreck about them, I'm actually excited for them now and don't feel nervous about the panels at all. So I want to focus on enjoying those events and stop beating myself up about needing a little break from fiction writing.

But speaking of fiction writing, stop by the Untethered Realms blog tomorrow for a group post about the movies or television shows that have inspired us as writers. My entry is about a certain high school girl who battled vampires.

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend and have a great week coming up! If anyone is willing to tweet or share about my 99 cents sale I'd be very grateful!

Clancy Pays a Visit to Two Fur-Peeps and A Writer

Clancy found a cure for his cabin fever this week by visiting with the fabulous duo of Sir Poops and Hair Ball, stars of Two Fur-Peeps and A Writer.

We are both so grateful to the fur-peeps and their mom Shelly Arkon for hosting Clancy and letting him do something to earn his keep around here by promoting The Ghosts of Aquinnah. Clancy had such a good time he hasn't been able to stop talking about it, and all his bragging has made Nate very jealous.

Visit us here to see what Clancy got up to with SPAL and HB!

Adopt A Shelter Dog Month

October is Adopt A Shelter Dog month and I couldn't let the month pass without giving a shout-out to my favorite former shelter dog in the world, Clancy, of course. Here he is making himself comfortable on the couch and watching football with Nate and me.

Yes, they are spoiled. :D

An estimated 8 to 10 million animals enter shelters in the United States every year so there are obviously tons of dogs waiting for homes at shelters all over the country. If you're interested in adding a dog to your family, consider adopting a shelter dog and giving one of these millions of homeless animals a safe and happy forever home.

You can find a dog in your area by visiting Petfinder, entering your city or zip code, and limiting your search to dogs. When I did this search, there were more than 190,000 homeless dogs listed near my area. I can't imagine how many would come up if I lived in a really big city.

If you'd like to help out but are unable to adopt, Petfinder has a great list here of simple ways to help spread the word and make a difference. The list includes things like adding a Petfinder widget to your site or posting on Twitter about the month. Here's an example of a tweet from the list: “October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. Save a life: Adopt a dog! http://www.petfinder.com #savedogs”

Here's hoping lots of shelter dogs find new homes during this special month.

National Dog Day and Wickedly They Come

August 26 is National Dog Day and Clancy is thrilled to have the chance to celebrate.

National Dog Day was founded in 2004 by pet lifestyle and author expert Colleen Paige. The day is an opportunity to raise awareness of and encourage dog rescue and adoption while also celebrating the joy of family dogs and the selflessness of service dogs, police dogs, search and rescue dogs and all of the working dogs who do so much to enrich our world.

My way of celebrating the day is to share a few more rescue dogs from my area who are waiting for their forever homes. Click on each dog's name for information on how to adopt them.

Buster from Three Sisters Pet Rescue

Nina from Fourgotten Paws Animal Rescue

Stella from the SPCA of Cincinnati

Nightingale from the Kenton County Animal Shelter

When I searched Petfinder for these dogs, I unfortunately found more than 5700 homeless dogs within 100 miles of Cincinnati! To find adoptable dogs in your area, simply go to Petfinder.com, enter your city or zip code, and limit your search to dogs.

The Dog Day site has many suggestions for how to celebrate the day, including donating time, money or supplies to a local shelter, writing your congressperson and asking for their support in efforts to ban puppy mills, assisting an elderly neighbor with walking their dog, or simply showering your own dog with extra love and goodies. For the full list of suggestions, click here.

I'd hate to imagine a world without dogs in it so I think this is a day that is definitely worth celebrating. However, someone in my house disagrees and feels like the whole thing is a waste of time and energy.

I promised Nate that National Cat Day is coming up in October so he was at least somewhat appeased.

In other news, this past weekend was a big one for my friend Cathrina Constantine, as her debut novel Wickedly They Come was released out into the world! Yay!

Cathrina is hosting a big giveaway to celebrate her release and you can find all the details, as well as read an excerpt from the book, here.

I happen to know that Cathrina is a dog (and cat) lover so I didn't think she'd mind sharing a post with the dogs. :D Congratulations, Cathy!

Friday Faves and Celebrations

Hello and Happy Friday to all!

As I mentioned in Wednesday's IWSG post, I'm planning to blog more frequently. I know that several bloggers do lists each Friday and I decided I wanted to try that myself. So each Friday I'm going to post 5 favorite things in a variety of categories. We'll see how this goes!

For the first week I'm starting with something very simple - my 5 favorite pictures of my dog Clancy and my cat Nate. Clancy and Nate used to be on this blog a lot more than they have been recently and they're kind of annoyed that they've been ignored. So I promised them I'd try to give them more attention. ;)

First up, their version of a conga line:

 Nate when he's had WAY too much to drink:

Clancy letting me know exactly what he thinks of my idea to dress him up as Batdog for Halloween:

 And Clancy letting me know how sick he is of me making him sit for the camera:

Finally, as I am a Game of Thrones addict I totally love my Jon Snow Funko toy I got recently. Nate doesn't agree at all and has no patience with my nonsense.

So there's my first round of Friday Faves. If Clancy and Nate have their way they will be the subject every week. :D

While we're on the subject of pets and animals, I wrote earlier this summer of my plans to start a new blog devoted to animal rescue called Cincinnati Tails. I've realized since then that I simply don't have the time to get a new blog up and running, so I've decided to incorporate my ideas for Cincinnati Tails into this blog. Since I want to start blogging more frequently it only makes sense to bring the posts I would be doing for Cincinnati Tails over here to my blog home. So I hope to have more animals taking over the blog from time to time. :)

Finally, it's time for another Celebrate the Small Things hop with Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

This week I'm celebrating the fact that I feel more energized about blogging and writing than I have all summer. I've been in a total slump and haven't focused on any new ideas so it feels really good to be coming out of that. I hope to spend a good part of the weekend writing. Fingers crossed!

I also want to say thanks to everyone who commented on my IWSG post. I received some great suggestions and it's also great to know that I am not alone in my marketing and social media anxiety.

Happy weekend!

Spoiled Pets and Cincinnati Tails

I just had to share this picture of my dog Clancy and my cat Nate making themselves comfortable while making a mess of my couch. They would no doubt say "what do you mean, your couch?" if they could read. They have claimed the couch as their own and I'm fairly sure this is how they spend most of their days while I am at work. I can't deny that they are spoiled rotten.

Cincinnati Tails

But the main thing I wanted to share today is that I have started up a new blog devoted to animals rescues and other animal-related issues. It's brand new and still a work in progress, but if you're interested in checking it out this is the link:

Cincinnati Tails

I love writing about rescue organizations and showcasing animals who are waiting for new homes, so I'm excited to have this new opportunity. Please wish me luck! :)

Clancy Is Not Impressed and Other Friday News

Just in case I ever think about getting a big head because my novel was published, my dog Clancy is around to make sure I keep my ego in check. A few weeks ago, after I had I received my author copies of Polar Night in the mail, I wanted to take a picture of Clancy with one of the books. We were at my mom's house and, as you can see from this picture, Clancy was not even a little bit impressed.

He reluctantly agreed to sit and stay for the picture, then took off in a flash as soon as the camera's flash went off and he knew we were done. My mom was cooking chicken in the kitchen and Clancy knew there were more important things to concentrate on than my book. Begging for chicken from Gran vs. a book with my name on it? Is it even a contest?

After this experience, I didn't even try to take a picture with my cat Nate as I can only guess how that would have gone. I guess we can always count on our pets to keep us humble.

Speaking of pets, and especially of dogs like my Clancy who are considered DINOS, or Dogs In Need Of Space, I learned about a great project recently and wanted to help spread the word about it. The Yellow Dog Project is aimed at helping dog owners identify their own dog who needs space by attaching a yellow ribbon to the dog's leash while out and about. This is intended for dogs who are afraid of or reactive to other dogs, dogs who are nervous around children or strangers, or even dogs with injuries or health issues who need to be left alone while they are healing.

Clancy is afraid of children and I always make sure to keep him on a short leash while we are out walking so we don't run into any problems. Because of that experience, I think the idea of identifying dogs who need space for various reasons is a great one and I wanted to give the project a shout-out here on the blog. I also wrote an article about it this week for my animal news column, so if you'd like to read more about it you can find that article here.

Moving away from dogs, I'm very excited to be part of Jessica McKendry's blog party to announce the Kindle release of her debut novel, From The Ashes. Congratulations, Jessica!!

Here is the book summary:

Jaina Indera has been preparing her entire life for the chance to prove herself a superior and loyal citizen of the Imperial Alliance. In order to do so, she believes she must win the galaxy-wide competition known as the Trials. With training at her Gifted School progressing swiftly, everything looks like it is on pace for her to achieve her dream…until a boy named Dragon enrolls in her class.

Suddenly doubting herself and everything she’s been taught to believe, Jaina and Dragon are teamed with six of their classmates for the chance to compete and achieve their dream: winning the Trials. Consisting of four different tests, the Trials are about to challenge these eight young adults to the limits of their abilities. But learning to work as a team is more difficult than they ever imagined and dark secrets from Dragon’s past emerge that put them in mortal danger. Now Jaina must discover what she’s really fighting for if she and her team have any hope of finishing the Trials…alive.

Exploring the nature of self-reliance and self-confidence, McKendry delivers a perceptive, nuanced portrait of the importance of teamwork and the strain it puts on individual desires and motivations. Playing with the concepts of dark and light, her novel is a complex coming of age story that encapsulates the complicated hero’s journey from student to leader. A dark tale of love and revenge, From the Ashes is a powerful reminder to think for yourself instead of blindly following what you’ve been taught to believe.

Check out Jessica's website or follow her on Twitter (@JessicaMcKendry) for more information. Yay, Jessica!

Finally, it's time to once again Celebrate the Small Things with Vikki. 

This week I'm celebrating the fact that I got back to exercising after several weeks of being lazy. And I even managed to get Clancy out on a walk with me so we could both get back in the swing of things. I still have a ways to go before I'm back to where I want to be in terms of exercise, but at least it was a start.

I hope everyone had lots to celebrate this week. Happy Weekend to all! :)