IWSG: Looking Back on a Great Month & Forward (I hope!) to Another One

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

April was a fantastic month for me from a writing perspective. I have continued to work on my Polar Night/Polar Day sequel, A Killing in Kennecott, and am making great progress. Even better, I'm really enjoying the writing! I hope I can keep up at my current pace and perhaps finish the first draft in May.

I also had two great writing events that were really fun.

First up, I was invited to be part of a reception honoring Hamilton County, Ohio authors on April 2. I was thrilled to attend and was even more thrilled when I made it up on the stage and back down again without tripping. :D

On April 8 I attended the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus, Ohio. This was my third time at the fest and it is always a great time.

Puppet Baby Moo came along with me and helped me read his story to some of this kiddos at the event.

Best of all, I sold more books than I ever have at any previous festival. So the day was a success all the way around.

Now for May! I am scheduled to give a talk on my books and writing in Marysville, Ohio on Tuesday, May 9. Marysville is Baby Moo's hometown but the folks who invited me to speak didn't know about Baby Moo's book when they contacted me, so that is a total coincidence. In another strange twist, I used to work in Marysville back in the 1990s. When I left that job I never thought I'd have any reason to visit the town again. But somehow it must have been meant to be that I would!

The Friends of the Public Library hold an Author Series every year and invite four authors to participate, one each month from February - May. I am so honored to be one of the four this year! I am also nervous about it because of my anxiety over public speaking but I am hoping this will go as smoothly as my April events did.

Now I'm looking forward to hopping around and seeing what my fellow IWSGers have been up to over the past month. :)

IWSG and a visit from Chrys Fey

Happy IWSG day, all! As usual it's hard to believe another month has come and gone and it's time for another meeting. Even harder to believe is that we're getting close to the halfway point of 2015!

Thanks as always to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the founder of our group and host of our meetings. If you're not already part of the group and would like to join, visit the IWSG site here and add your name to our list of neurotic and insecure writers.

Strangely enough this is another month when I'm not feeling insecure and in fact I'm really just excited and enthusiastic about the rest of the year. I had a fantastic time at the Ohioana Book Festival last month and also had another great experience doing a presentation for a class at the university where I work. I know I'll always have some public speaking anxiety, but overall I've managed to kick that fear to the curb. I'm looking forward to being part of Book Con in New York at the end of May and two more book events in the fall.

I'm also thrilled that my ideas for another Danny Fitzpatrick story have fallen into place and I've actually started writing it. I know I have a long way to go but I'm feeling great about it so far. I'm hoping for a writing filled summer!

That's where I'm at this month. How is everyone else doing?

In addition to participating in the IWSG I'm hosting Chrys Fey today. If you don't already follow this super-helpful and sweet blogger and writer, go visit her at Write with Fey.

Chrys is sharing an interview she conducted with her character Avrianna Heavenborn from her new release Ghost of Death. Welcome Chrys and Avrianna!

Hi everyone. I’m Chrys Fey and I am here to interview Avrianna Heavenborn, the detective from Ghost of Death. I hope you enjoy it. :)

***

Thanks for clearing some time out of your busy schedule to talk to me, Avrianna.

You’re welcome, Chrys. Sorry you had to come all the way out to my office.

That was no problem. Your office is...*looks around*...clean and sparse. *smiles*

I know, it sucks. I have a case to solve, though, so let’s get this show on the road.

Sure.

1. How did you become a detective?

It wasn’t easy. A lot of people wanted to see me fail, but I didn’t quit. The moment I graduated high school, I enrolled in the police academy. I was the youngest one in my class, and there was only a few other females in the academy. I worked as a beat cop for a while until I could get the title I coveted...detective. I did it fast and I did it good.

2. What’s the worst murder case you had to solve?

There’s been a lot of bloody crime scenes that I’ve seen and countless gruesome murders. After a while, they all start to blend together into one long gory blur. There was one where twin teenage girls were raped and murdered. Another where a mother of five was found beaten to death in a Dumpster. Right now, there’s so many images flashing in my mind that I can’t pick just one. Sorry.

3. That’s understandable. What have you learned over the years?

That anyone can be a killer. Anyone.

4. That’s very true and very scary. What went through your mind when you saw Jolie Montgomery’s crime scene?

Well, I was doing what any good detective would do. I was scrutinizing the area and body for clues about the murder, the victim, and the murderer. But...there was a moment when I had a temporary weakness. You see, Jolie was found in an alley. I once lived in an alley after I ran away from foster care. And for a second, I pictured myself as Jolie.

5. How do you plan on finding Jolie’s killer?

Oh, I have my ways. And I’m good. I’ll interview the people closest to her, find common threads, look for lies, apply pressure, eliminate suspects, collect evidence, and then make the arrest.

6. Do you have any leads?

Not yet, but I will and you can count on that!

7. If you could tell all the criminals out there something, what would it be?

To watch out, because I’m coming for each and every one of them.

They’d be smart not to mess with you. And I should know...I created you.

Thanks, Chrys. Now I really need to get back to work.

Say no more. I’ll show myself out.

Title: Ghost of Death

Author: Chrys Fey

Genre: Supernatural/Suspense

Format: eBook Only
Page Count: 41 (short story)

Release Date: April 22nd, 2015

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Blurb:

Jolie Montgomery, a twenty-one-year-old woman, wakes up in an alley next to her corpse. She has no memories of her murder or the night she died. She didn’t even see the killer’s face before he or she took her life. Wanting justice, Jolie seeks answers in the only way a ghost can...by stalking the lead detective on the case.

Avrianna Heavenborn is determined to find the person responsible for a young woman’s death. She gets closer to the killer’s identity with every clue she uncovers, and Jolie is with her every step of the way.

But if they don’t solve her murder soon, Jolie will be an earth-bound spirit forever.

Book Links:

Amazon US / Amazon UK / The Wild Rose Press / NOOK / KOBO

Excerpt:

            With the sound of her mom’s grief wafting up to her, Jolie came to terms with her present state. I’m dead and now my mom knows it. She eyed the door in front of her. She hadn’t yet walked through a door, but if her hand could pass through metal then she knew she could move

through wood.

If I have to be a ghost then I’ll be a damn good one. All across the afterlife I’ll be known as the Ghost of Death! And I’m going to start by walking through this damn door!

            She would’ve taken a deep breath to brace herself if she could have, so she mentally pumped herself up instead. You can do it! Easy-peasy. Nothing to it. And she took a step forward. Solid matter slipped around and through her form. On the other side, a familiar site confronted her: a black and white bed, the bright green shag carpet in the middle of the room, and a white desk.

            Stepping up to her desk, Jolie eyed her ancient desktop computer, the one she used before her dad gifted her with a laptop when she announced she was accepted to the local university. Wanting to send out the first ever tweet from the afterlife, she pushed the button to bring the device to life, but her finger poker straight through it. Resigning to her Twitter-less fate, she moved toward the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. She saw nothing. Not even a shimmer in the air hinted at her presence.

            Being a ghost sucks!

Available for PRE-ORDER:

Blurb:

Detective Reid Sanders doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but when he’s faced with a crime scene that defies the laws of nature, he has no other choice but to start believing. And solving a magical murder involves working with a witch.

Liberty Sawyer embodies the look of your classic evil witch, so, it’s no surprise when she uncovers the murderer is a witch that she becomes Reid’s number one suspect. If she can’t convince him otherwise, more people could lose their lives to dark magic, including her.

Book Links:

Amazon US / Amazon UK

BIO:

Chrys Fey is the author of Hurricane Crimes and 30 Seconds. She is currently working on the sequel to Hurricane Crimes that’ll serve as book two in the Disaster Crimes series.

When Fey was six years old, she realized her dream of being a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen. Fey lives in Florida where she is waiting for the next hurricane to come her way.

You can connect with her on Facebook and her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers! 

Author Links: 

Facebook / Blog / Website / Goodreads 

Thank you all for visiting and hopefully commenting. ;) 

G is for Go

If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. GO out and get busy. ~ Dale Carnegie

I am a master at sitting home and thinking, or to be more accurate, fretting, about something that scares me or bothers me for one reason or another. At the beginning of last year I spent most of my time fretting about the book events I had scheduled and the public speaking that came along with them. But a funny thing happened when I actually went out and did the events. After all the worrying, I had a great time at the events and I even enjoyed the public speaking. While I won't say I've totally conquered my fear of public speaking, I've come a long way and this year I am looking forward to the events instead of freaking out about them. 

For me at least, Mr. Carnegie's advice was right on target. I doubt that sitting home and worrying has ever solved anything. GO out and do what scares you. You may be surprised at the results.

IWSG: One Last Public Speaking Post

It's the July meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and I am once again going to post about public speaking. But first, if you'd like to join the group or visit other members, go here for the sign-up list.

I first posted about my public speaking phobia/anxiety/insecurity back in March. I was overwhelmed with the encouragement and support I received so now I am thrilled to be able to share that all of that encouragement and great advice really did help! I've completed all of the events I was nervous about back in March and all of them went so well I still have to pinch myself to believe it.

The event I was most nervous about was held last Tuesday, June 24. I did a presentation at my local library about The Ghosts of Aquinnah and my family history on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the Vineyarders who moved to Cincinnati in the early 1800s and helped found the township I live in. I also planned a book signing to go along with the event.

I knew I was going to have to stand up alone and speak for about 30 or 40 minutes so I was trying my best to remain calm and not have a panic attack. I was totally amazed, but once I got there I wasn't even nervous at all! And once I started my presentation I actually enjoyed it and barely even needed to look at my notes. I even managed to make people laugh a few times (intentionally) which was awesome. Here are a few pictures from the presentation:

The librarian told me there were 31 people in attendance so I was thrilled with the turnout, especially since it was a very rainy and stormy evening. Several people asked questions after I was finished and everyone seemed interested throughout. It was so much better than I ever could have imagined. And to top it off, I managed to sell a few books. :)

I feel safe in saying I'm officially over my public speaking phobia. I made it through two book signings, a book festival and panel, and a presentation and with each event my insecurity decreased and my enthusiasm increased. So you can't ask for more than that. Thanks again to everyone who supported me through these past few months!

In other news, my Untethered Realms buddies and I shared some of our geeky belongings over at the UnRealms blog yesterday. If you missed it, check out our nerdy treasures here.

Speaking of Untethered Realms, we are just one follower away from making it to 100 followers on our blog. When follower #100 joins us, we plan to host a fun giveaway with lots of our books. Stay tuned to see when we reach that milestone!

*Edited to add that we reached 100 this morning! Thanks to Chemist Ken for following and getting us over the hump. We will start getting the giveaway together and share the details soon. Thanks to all our followers!*

And speaking of giveaways, my publisher Ink Smith is holding a giveaway to celebrate their two year anniversary. There are lots of prizes available, including a signed copy of my book Polar Night. If you'd like to enter check out the rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Happy July, all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IWSG: Signings and Panels and Public Speaking, Oh My

It's time for the March meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and I am excited to be co-hosting this month! My fellow co-hosts are Tina Downey, Elsie, and Elizabeth Seckman. I'm looking forward to visiting lots of fellow insecure writers today.

In the 1990s Jerry Seinfeld had a joke about a survey of fears which found that public speaking was number one on the list and death was number two. He concluded that if this survey was accurate most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy at a funeral. I guess I wouldn't go that far, but I can't deny that few things bring me more anxiety than public speaking of any kind.

As I mentioned last week in my monthly goals update, I was thrilled to arrange two book signings last month, one in May and another in June, and to be accepted for the Ohioana Book Festival. And I really am thrilled, but I am also a nervous wreck about the presentation that goes along with the June signing and the panel that is part of the book festival.

To say I have a tendency to get tongue-tied when talking to strangers is an understatement. I simply hate speaking in front of people and it almost feels inevitable that I will trip over my words, forget what I was going to say, or somehow make a fool of myself in ways I haven't even thought of yet.

When putting together this post I learned that there is a name for this fear - glossophobia. Apparently "glosso" comes from the Greek word for tongue. Symptoms include:

intense anxiety prior to, or simply at the thought of having to verbally communicate with any group,

avoidance of events which focus the group's attention on individuals in attendance,

physical distress, nausea, or feelings of panic in such circumstances.

I would say that about covers it!

But I'm doing my best to deal with this anxiety and not let it ruin the events for me, and I'm definitely not going to give in to the desire to engage in avoidance of these circumstances. I'm grateful for these opportunities and hope to have more in the future, so I know I need to get control of this fear. Please wish me luck!

Now I'm off to make my co-hosting visits and catch up with the insecurities plaguing my fellow group members. Happy IWSG day, all! :)