Taking the Towel Back Out & More Realms Faire Games

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Last week I wrote that I was throwing in the towel on my WIP after months of frustration with it. Apparently the WIP didn't like that idea, as right after I wrote that post I got inspired to go take the towel back out and work on the story. And to my amazement, I actually finished the first draft over the weekend! Once I started writing again I couldn't stop.

So I think that story still wanted to be told and I am more than happy to oblige it. I have tons of work to do as the first draft is garbage, but I am excited now about tackling it.

This story is a follow-up to Polar Night and Polar Day but is set in Chicago instead of in Alaska. The antagonist is a ghost this time, or a sort of ghost, who has connections to the Civil War. I came upon this photo on Twitter from the Chattanooga National Military Park this week out of the blue and it seemed like another sign that this story is meant to be finished. Isn't this a haunting shot? I love it.

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I'm looking forward to being able to share more about the story in the coming weeks.

Thanks again to everyone who left comments on my post last week. I really appreciated all of the encouragement and advice!

The Realms Faire is getting closer and I am excited to spotlight a few more games today from my fellow participants.

House Bookworm - Riddle Me This
I am a book so popular they made a movie of me. Within the what if realms I lie. Horror? Fantasy? Or am I Sci-Fi? A riddle every day during the Realms Faire for you to take your best guess and have a chance to win a prize most splendid.
For your guessing pleasure, visit Cherie Reich's blog every day November 9-13 to make a guess and be entered for a daily prize.

House of the Hero's Dilemma - hosted by Tyrean Martinson
Hero's beware! Here at the House of Hero's Dilemma, a new cliff-hanging adventure will dangle new heroes above the depths of destiny or despair. In 100 words or less, a hero will face a danger in story form.
Each day, the people of Realsmdom will decide the fate of these heroes in three sentences or less. If fateful endings are giving answer in poetic form, an extra entry for prizes will be awarded.
Daily e-book prizes will be awarded via random name-pulling from the entries. Everyone is invited to participate.
People of Realmsdom, you have the power of storytelling might to decide the fate of the would-be heroes. Will they die in glory or shame, live in victory or defeat? It is up to you.

House Waibel - The Stockade Brigade
Warrants of arrest have been issued for select authors accusing them of witchery and wizardry. The pillory has been erected and the trial dates set.
Good people of Realmsdom, I call upon you to bear witness to these trials and offer your testimony for or against the author's crimes.
Points will be awarded for wordsmithing a comment in your best Olde English afore 8 of the clock in the Eastern time on the following scale:
5-Ye speak as one from the days of Queen Bess.4-Ye could pass muster as a Ren Faire cast member3-Ye could pass as a Ren Faire attendee2-Ye wouldn't be foolin' yer mother1-Ye stand out like the sun in a cloudless sky
An e-book will be given every day to the witness who scores the most points. Fear not, your daily score will be accumulated and the person with the highest score shall receive a special prize at the end of the week. So, brush off your Olde English and prepare to testify.

For all of the info on the Realms Faire, including a full list of this year's games, visit M. Pax here. 

IWSG & Flight Fest with Tyrean Martinson

I'm excited to be back from my blogging break just in time for the June meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by our favorite ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. 

As I've written a few times in recent months, I was very nervous about the book festival and signing events I had scheduled for May. The thing that brought me the most anxiety was the panel I was set to be part of at the Ohioana Book Festival on Saturday, May 10.

Believe it or not, I absolutely LOVED being part of my panel at the festival! I didn't feel nervous at all and nothing that I was worried about happened. I didn't forget my name, open my mouth and have no words come out, lose my train of thought while answering a question, etc. It was fun to talk about my books and writing in general. The time actually went by so quickly and the experience was so enjoyable that I was sorry when the panel ended. I had a fantastic time overall at the festival and hope to have the opportunity to participate again.

Now I have a presentation at my local library coming up later this month and while I'm still a little anxious, I'm honestly more excited and enthusiastic than I am nervous. I never could have imagined I would ever be able to say that when I first wrote about my public speaking anxiety. So thanks again to everyone who offered so much support and encouragement. It worked! :)

On the insecure front, while I had a great month and a great time on my trip to Martha's Vineyard, I didn't come anywhere close to meeting the writing goals I set for myself. I really need to get serious and finish my Polar Night sequel and prequel novella once and for all. So I plan to be spending a lot of time in my writing cave for the rest of the summer.

In other news, this week is the release party for Tyrean Martinson's Champion In Flight. Congratulations to Tyrean!

As part of the release, Tyrean asked us this:

What's your favorite way to fly? Dragonback? Griffin? Giant Eagle? 747? Space Shuttle? Millennium Falcon? Enterprise? or on a bike with E.T.?

I get such terrible motion sickness that it's really best for me to stay on the ground, but as long as I could take plenty of Dramamine before taking flight my answer is an easy one. In deference to my Game of Thrones fanaticism I have to go with Dragonback. I'd love to steal one of Daenerys' dragons and take it for a spin. I'd just have to bring it back quickly as she's not someone I'd want angry with me. :D

And now, here is all the info on Tyrean's latest:

Champion in Flight Blurb:

A year after she won the battle for Septily, Clara feels trapped in Skycliff by the Allied Council. As the last pieces of information about the Healing Caves fall into place, Clara is attacked by an assassin. Covert Drinaii mercenaries and the Council aren’t going to stop Clara from her quest to heal her broken blade. As Champion of Aramatir, she must act.
Meanwhile, in the joint kingdoms of Rrysorria and Wylandria, the youngest and still cursed swan prince despairs of ever being whole again. In a moment of anger and desperation, Liam discovers a blood link between him and a dark sorceress.

Clara won the battle for Septily, but her battle isn’t over.

Champion in Flight is the second book in The Champion Trilogy.

Links:

Smashwords  

Amazon 

Goodreads  

Author Bio:

Tyrean Martinson lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. Dragonfold and Other Adventures, and Light Reflections showcase her short stories and poetry. She is currently at work on the third novel of The Champion Trilogy: Champion’s Destiny.

Talking to Crickets with M.Pax, a One Word Interview with Tyrean Martinson, and Friday Celebrations

M. Pax is here today as part of her blog tour to promote Beyond The Edge, the latest installment of her spectacular series The Backworlds. I'm excited to welcome Mary as she is a friend as well as a terrific writer and a fellow member of Untethered Realms. Thanks for being here, Mary!

I'm also excited to be on Tyrean Martinson's site as part of her One Word Interview series. Thanks for having me, Tyrean! You can find my interview here.

But now back to The Backworlds and M. Pax. 

Talking to Crickets

If you’re out there publishing, you probably get what I mean by crickets. We scream, we shout, we stand on our heads with flags on our butts [OK, maybe not that], trying to be heard, trying to be seen and noticed.

It’s not easy. Is it? No.

I’ve spent month after month talking to an empty room, so it seemed. Fortunately, I’m extremely stubborn. So I never gave up.

Don’t you give up. It has nothing to do with talent. There’s a heck of a lot of noise out there. You never know when someone might hear you, though. That’s why you can’t quit. Not ever.

I lucked out with Bookbub noticing me in June. They gave me a free ad. That sure was fun. Loved the sales that resulted from that. Thank you Bookbub!

A month later, an editor contacted me and asked me to consider putting Semper Audacia in their anthology, Space Jockey. After some negotiation, I agreed. They paid me. It came out recently and is better than I expected. It gains me exposure.

I published Semper Audacia exactly two years ago. It sells 10+ a month on average. Yeah, so a lot of crickets until something happened.

I hope I’m paying attention to myself here, because I released The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear a year ago. The crickets for that one are deafening. It’s a different audience than my space opera. Obviously, I’m still struggling with how to connect with that audience.

The Backworlds connects, and when I compare what I did for it versus what I did for Hetty, I can see what worked. I offered Backworlds #1 as a perma free and released the second in the series shortly after — a recipe I will repeat for any new series.

However, it seems what works and what doesn’t differs from author to author and from book to book. This formula may not work for my next. That’s what makes this game baffling.

I likened book marketing to pushing a boulder up a hill. My friend, Vella Munn, likens it to pushing water up a hill. Yup, she’s more right than I am, and she’s written a heckuva lot more books than I have.

Don’t be discouraged! Stay out there! Keep yapping! Someone will eventually hear you and things will start to happen. You won’t know when and you won’t know when. Which is why you shouldn’t stop.

Luck is what happens after a lot of work, a lot of work that on first glance seems to be getting you nowhere. 

About Beyond The Edge

Some truths are better left unfound.

 

For two years Craze’s dear friend, Lepsi, has been missing. The murmurings of a haunted spaceship might be a message and may mean his old pal isn’t dead. The possibility spurs Craze and Captain Talos to travel to uncharted worlds, searching. Out there, in an unfamiliar region of the galaxy beyond the Backworlds, they stumble upon a terrible truth.

 

Meanwhile, Rainly remains on Pardeep Station as acting planetlord, dealing with the discovery of her lover’s dark and brutal past. Alone and questioning her judgment, her introspection unlocks more than heartache. Latent protocols in her cybernetics activate, forcing her to face a sinister secret of her own.

 

In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendents to survive in a harsh universe. This is the fourth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.

Amazon / AmazonUK / Nook / Smashwords / Kobo / Other Outlets

M. Pax-- Inspiring the words she writes, she spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the Husband Unit and two demanding cats. She writes science fiction and fantasy mostly. You can find out more by visiting her at:

Website / FB / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest / Wattpad

 

Thanks again to Mary for being here!

Today is also the day for Vikki's Celebrate the Small Things hop. I am celebrating that I am finished with jury duty! I actually got dismissed a few days early and it's been great to be able to get back to a normal routine.

I didn't have a bad experience but I'm still glad to have that behind me. I didn't end up on a case but did get as far as the jury box before the prosecutor decided to dismiss me. I have no clue why he did but I didn't complain!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

IWSG and Sharing Good News

It's time once again for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. This month's co-hosts are Nancy Thompson, Mark Koopmans, and Heather Gardner. Thanks to all for hosting!

As this month's IWSG came around I was feeling insecure about the fact that I couldn't think of anything to write about for my post. Kind of ironic! But then I remembered that one of the purposes of the group is to "share and encourage," and I thought there was no better time to share some of the good news I've seen around the blogosphere in the past few weeks.

So without further ado, here are some of the fun and exciting things I've seen lately:

Tyrean Martinson released Dragonfold And Other Adventures this week. Isn't that an awesome cover? Here is some info on the book:

DRAGONFOLD AND OTHER ADVENTURES includes imaginative stories and poems, written between 2008 and 2013. Some of these adventures have been previously published, and others are waiting to be discovered for the first time.

Previously published titles include: “Dragonfold”; “Enough to Do”; “The Identity of Captain Wrath”; and “Embers.” This book also contains a sample of Martinson’s novel, Champion in the Darkness.

Find these previously published stories and more adventures in Dragonfold and Other Adventures, a collection of new and old stories and poems with fantasy and scifi elements.

Nancy LaRonda Johnson published her second book, Salted With Fire. Yet another wonderful cover! From Nancy's blurb for the book:

Black magic, murder, insanity, humor, honor and devotion. Salted With Fire is a journey of flash fiction and poetry that shows my writing transformation from worldly to wanting to please God.

Flash fiction is my passion; poetry is my release. I love creating a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end, with twists, humor, drama, compassion and horror, all under 1000 words. Salted With Fire isn’t just a book of stories and poetry, it is my journey as a writer, from writing only for the mere joy of it regardless of the message, to writing stories that highlight God’s will for people, even if the stories themselves are not religious in nature.

Congratulations to both Tyrean and Nancy!

Finally, Lisa Regan's Finding Claire Fletcher is a finalist in the eFestival of Words Best of Independent eBook Awards. Lisa is up for best novel and best heroine and if you've read her book you know she deserves to win both. Not that I'm biased or anything. :D

Visit Lisa's blog here to find out how to vote for her and help her secure these awards.

I also just want to say thank you to everyone who left such kind comments on my announcement about my second novel The Ghosts of Aquinnah. You guys always make everything even more exciting and I've honestly never met a more supportive group of people. And I guess ultimately that's what this IWSG is all about! :)

Polar Night Blog Tour and Champion in the Darkness Release Party!

I'm continuing my mini blog tour today with a visit to the amazingly talented Lisa Regan. Lisa is the author of Finding Claire Fletcher and if you haven't read her book yet, you're missing out! In addition to being a fantastic writer, Lisa is one of the nicest people you're likely to meet. I'm excited to be at her site today talking about the strange dream I had that led me to Polar Night.

My giveaway is still going on all this week while I'm out on tour, so just sign up via the Linky Tool at the bottom of this page if you'd like to sign up for a chance to win.


Now on to the big news of the day! Congratulations to Tyrean Martinson on the release of her novel Champion in the Darkness. Yay, Tyrean!!

Tyrean is also one of the nicest bloggers around and I have no doubt that her book will be excellent. I'm excited that it is the first book in a trilogy, as it's always fun to know there are more great books coming!

Here is all the info on Champion in the Darkness: 

The Blurb:

Clara is younger than most trainees, but she is ready to hold a Sword Master's blade. While visions and ancient prophecies stand in her way, they also offer a destiny unlike any other. Clara is aided by a haunted mentor, Stelia, whose knowledge of their enemy Kalidess is both a bane and a blessing. As evil threatens their land, Clara and Stelia must find the strength to overcome the darkness.

Champion in the Darkness is YA Christian Fantasy, and is the first book in the Champion Trilogy.

Champion in the Darkness can be found at these links:

Amazon Kindle   

Smashwords    

Goodreads      

About the Author:

Tyrean Martinson lives and writes in the Northwest, encouraged by her loving husband and daughters, and reminded to exercise by her dogs and cat. Champion in the Darkness is the first book in the Champion Trilogy, and she has previously published short stories and poetry.

Congratulations again to Tyrean! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm heading over to hang out with Lisa now. :)