Do You Have Goals? Updates, News, Fandom, and Links (the mega-post)

Please scroll down to the section you would like to read (because this post got a bit long)
First: Goals
Second: News
Third: Fandom/Reviews (with ratings?)
Fourth: Links

Goals
1. Write Strong (Monthly goal - 25,000 words).
17,754
I struggled to land on the next, big, fiction project. I have a couple of non-fiction projects in various stages, and then I had three, then four, fiction projects that were jumping up and down and shouting for my attention. I struggled to decide, but kept finding myself working on one of them - the one that wasn't supposed to be a long project. Ironically, the working title is Patience.

So far this year with short works, I have subbed 8 works so far. One was long-listed at Brilliant Flash Fiction, but not published, so I've re-subbed it, and IWSG accepted a short article for the next newsletter! (For the newsletter sign-up, click on this text-link.)
So, the rate of subbed works is: 1 Acceptance, 1 Long-listed and re-subbed, with 6 (+1 re-sub) in the Wait-Zone.

2. Market with Strength
I asked a blogging buddy about creating a book trailer because I loved hers (see below in news), and then, after thinking of costs, I decided to make my own with images and pictures I already own, and with free music. So, this is The Champion Trilogy book trailer (less than one minute):



This project actually came out of another project for my short story, "Letting Go: A Siren Song" for The Thing That Turned Me Anthology:
It's crammed into ten seconds, so if you blink, you might miss it:



And, I re-booted a newsletter (more about this in IWSG April). If you sign up for it, you'll get a free smashwords coupon code for Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry in the next issue. You can sign up in the little box between "Let us encourage" and the Google+ button.


3. Publish with Strength:
Champion's Destiny is in paperback. (Whew. Finally.)

Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry is out in all formats. (This one's been brewing for two years in a semi-formatted version, so it was actually easy to finish and I felt excited about getting it off my desk so I just went for it.)


4. Live Strong
Um. I walked 25 miles, biked 15, and did some other exercises. I'm definitely not where I wanted to be at this point in the year.

5. Worship Strong
I loved Lent. I went to an awesome Story Revolution workshop by Global Seed Planter Diane Brask. Now, I'm loving Holy Week. My oldest daughter is speaking tonight at our Good Friday worship along with six other young adults. They are taking turns to speak about the last words of Jesus on the cross. My daughter's portion centers around "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23).
I didn't finish my "whole Bible" challenge for Lent, but I did read from Genesis through Jeremiah, with a bit from the book of Matthew (added out of order). I plan on finishing my seventh read of the Bible throughout the spring.

6. Gratitude = Grace (Thanksgiving and Invitational Attitude)
Well, I've invited a few people to Good Friday and Easter. Plus, I've invited a few people to Paddler's Cup in Gig Harbor (if you live nearby, come and watch or join the races!)
I'm thankful for my church family, my family, my friends, and the amazing love of God.

And, I've invited a few bloggers to take part in the Five Reasons to Write series of guest posts. If you would like to join in on this in August or the fall, please check out the 5 Reasons to Write tab above, and e-mail me at tyreantigger (at) gmail (dot) com.

7. Rest
Well . . . I took a few hours here and there to read fiction, but life has been moving like a freight train. Can I sleep after Easter or after Paddler's Cup (a paddling event the weekend after Easter)?

News

Lori MacLaughlin has a new book coming out in May, and there is a really awesome book trailer to go with it!
 

M. Pax and seven other sci-fi authors have a #FREE collection of books out - Galactic Empires

The Thing That Turned Me: An Anthology is coming May 31st from Stay Classy Publishing! My short story, "Letting Go: A Siren Song" is about a young siren who discovers that she can't avoid her gift forever. And yes, my title is an intended spoof of "that" song, and give a nod to another song. (Obviously, the reason I don't regularly write to music is that I would end up writing musical fiction.)

Fandom/Reviews

Movies I loved in March (DVD/Netflix and Theater) - Photos from IMDb:

The Intern - my whole family loved this sweet drama-dy about friendship that crosses the boundaries of age and gender. It's funny, sad, sweet, and fabulous!  (PG-13)

Risen - Told from the viewpoint of a Roman centurion, I thoroughly enjoyed this awe-filled, after-resurrection story about Jesus. We went with our church youth group and nearly bought out one of the theaters.  (PG-13)










Books I enjoyed in March:

Camp Never by Shelley Sly - a piercing but lovely story about a young teen girl who has been sent to "remedial" summer camp. As always, I was impressed deeply by Shelley Sly's story writing, and the way she handled tough material. (All audiences)

Firebird by Kathy Tyers - beautifully written, action-packed Christian science fiction with a strong heroine!

I think this is a new favorite of mine, and it's hard for me to realize that I didn't know this book existed until a few weeks ago even though the original edition came out in 1999. This made me thankful once again for the longevity of e-book and pod publishing. (PG-13)

Radio Hope by Sean MacLaughlin - an apocalyptic novel without zombies, but with some gritty, hard-edged characters who are desperate for hope. Excellent writing! (PG-13+)

Westward, Tally Ho by Milo James Fowler - a western, coming-of-age farce in true spaghetti western style. The main character's inability to cope with the grittiness of the wild west is hilarious and adorable, and his butler rocks! (If I tell you too much . . . well, it would spoil the fun.) (PG)










Okay - why the rating? Because I found that some kids in my writing classes actually read my blog/reviews. Whoa. So, I imagined the youngest, 10-12 year-old students reading the books mentioned.

Gulp.
I'm thinking . . . oh no, what have I recommended? If little Susie reads that, I'm going to be tarred, feathered, and pitch-forked. Many families with students in my classes have a stricter idea of reading lists than I do, and I know I'm not going to please anyone, but I decided to try a rating system based off of the one that's used for movies. At some point, I may need a pseudonym.

If it's PG-13, then I think it has either language, violence, scary images, or content that put it firmly in a category where 13 year-old kids should be the youngest readers. If I say something's "steamy," then there is a sex scene in it. If it's "sweet," then there isn't. If I say it's "gritty," then there is language, violence, or edgy content. If it has a "+" by it, then it means that my rating might be considered too low by some families.

However, if I haven't read the book and have no idea, it's a blank slate. (Most of the "NEWS" books are in this category.)

Market Links
Circuits and Slippers - Fairy Tale/Sci-fi mash-ups, 2,000-10,000 words. Needed by April 8th, 2016. See site for very specific details about the type of mash-up!

Anthologies for TDR Publishing - Due April 30th. Women POV heroines. See site for details.

Sword and Sorceress 31 - Reading period starts April 16th. See site for details. Paid Market.