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Friday, November 17, 2017

5 Things to Do to Get Published by Tara Tyler #Disposaltour

5 Things to Do to Get Published


Don't get your hopes up, there's no easy secret plan to getting published - well, there is and anyone can do it these days, but only true, dedicated writers won't cut corners to be published. Real writers put blood, sweat, tears, and laughter not only into their books, but also into their efforts to have it published.

And so, here is my list of 5 Things to Do to Get Published:
  1. Tell a fantastic story! Write it down with flair.
  2. Research and edit to make it even better - listen to advice, criticism, but most importantly your heart.
  3. Condense your magnificent story into two succinct paragraphs that will lure readers to want to find out what happens in the book. A query. This you will send to hungry agents after you find out who has an appetite for your genre.
  4. Don't give up. This is the most important step. Rejections and lack of responses will make you depressed, weepy, doubt yourself, and want to quit. You have to keep at it. Keep busy, keep writing, keep submitting.
  5. Eventually, you will be ready. A wonderful situation will present itself and you'll get published! But that's when the real work begins - marketing and putting yourself out there to sell it!
GOOD LUCK ALL YE WHO  ENTER HERE!

DISPOSAL by Tara Tyler
Pop Travel, Book Three

Cooper and Geri are finally in a good place, but their bliss is short-lived when Cooper's rebellious nephew Jimmy moves in with them for a summer internship. He hits the town hard and thinks he's found the girl of his dreams in an fiery, exotic beauty. Against all words of warning, he pursues her and ends up getting kidnapped by her powerful Drug Lord father. Geri tracks him down, but gets herself kidnapped as well.

Now it's up to Cooper to use all his resources to save them, including the hot homicide detective Geri secretly despises, and the latest sketchy gadgets his genius friend Hasan offers him to field-test. Sure, why not? Cooper will do anything to get his family back.

KINDLE <=> Paperback (coming soon)



About the Author:
Tara Tyler is a math teacher who writes to share her passion for reading with others. She loves dogs, coffee, and is the lazy housewife, living in a world of boys with three sons and a coach husband. Join her for an adventure!

Book One           Book Two


To celebrate, you can take Tara Tyler's SURVEY- which will automatically enter you for a PRIZE! Drawing and winners announced on December 15th.

Thanks so much to Tyrean for hosting and supporting me - she's been a great friend for many years now. Hard to believe it's been so long! (You are so welcome, Tara!!!)

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Do You Have Goals? with Pictures



Do You Have Goals? is an encouraging blog hop started by Misha. 

Goals? What goals? Ohhh, those goals. 
I lost track of my goals as I ran from one project to the next, from one exciting, life opportunity to the next challenge, to one day to the next.

So, let's just put that massive list of goals on hold for now.
What I really did:
1. I prepared for my three independent contract classes for homeschool co-op and taught a bit around my trip.

2. I wrote several worksheets for grammar. These focused on verb conjugation and verbals, such as gerunds, participles, and infinitives. (In current grammar standards, it is okay to spit infinitives like all Star Trek lovers who want to boldly go ...)

3. I went to the Czech Republic via Heathrow in London. This means, I left the states at 5:30 Pacific Time on a Monday, spent a four hour layover in Heathrow on Tuesday mid-day, and then arrived in Prague on Tuesday night.

4. I got to feel like a rock star! For the first time in my life, a taxi driver from a hotel stood at the airport arrivals area with my name on a sign. I almost took a picture of him and the sign because I was so thrilled. Yes, I'm a geek, but since he seemed embarrassed at the idea, I didn't take the picture.

5. If you haven't guessed, I traveled solo. I left one day after Team USA and after most of the parents who went. This meant I toured solo most of the first day and part of the second. It challenged my perception of myself and helped me realize that I do have the ability to travel in a foreign country, figure out planes, taxis, trains, and directions without a travel buddy, and even without working data on my phone since the international data plan I thought I had didn't work for most of the trip. (My husband stayed home (again!) but if my daughter makes it next year, I will drag him with me somehow - not because I have to someone to lean on to travel but because I really want him with me.)


6. I had an awesome trip, saw amazing sights, and watched Team USA race at the Olympic Hopes Regatta for three days in Racice, Czech Republic. I highly recommend visiting Prague, Karlstejn Castle (southwest of Prague via train), and the countryside in the Czech Republic. The following pics are just a small taste of what I saw:
The Old Town Astronomical Clock - 600 Hundred Years Old and Still Ticking! 

The ceiling of a small Hussite Church that I happened upon when I was sort of lost. 

One small view from St. Charles Bridge in Prague

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague

Part of the old section of Prague Castle - which is a working castle in other sections.

One of the armor exhibits in a small section of the Golden Lane in Prague Castle.

My daughter and her K2 partner racing in the K2 500m. (Kayak with 2 people for 500m)

Same race. They did well enough in their heat to move onto the semi-finals. They didn't make finals, but I cheered as loud as I could for the races they had! (My daughter also competed in a K1 1000m, a K1 200m, and a K4 200m for her age division of 2001 women.)

My youngest. 


7. I didn't get all the research done that I wanted, but I did do some travel journaling on my pc, in a notebook, and on my phone.

8. On the way back, I had a seven hour layover in London so I left the airport, rode Heathrow Express, rode the tube (underground), and took a short walking tour from Westminster to Buckingham Palace via Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus. In Leicester Square, they were getting ready for the red carpet premier of the second Kingsman movie ... if I just had a longer layover, I could have been a crazy fan and waited around to take pictures of Colin Firth! :) But, I just kept walking and went to Waterstones, the largest bookstore in London, instead. I made it back to Heathrow in time to go through all the security and get to my gate with 20 minutes to spare before boarding even started. It was the ideal way to spend a layover in London and I am glad I had the opportunity.









I feel like traveling changes my perceptions and broadens the horizons I allow myself to see. I gain confidence from adventures and I am incredibly thankful for the chance to see a small part of the wide world beyond my usual corner. I hope to share some more in-depth insights from specific parts of the trip in future posts. As it is, I feel like this is a bit overly long for a goals update day. (sorry)

By the way, Team USA placed seventh overall out of thirty-three countries competing at the Olympic Hopes Regatta this year. One of our female canoeists - hailing from the Seattle team - won two gold medals and a silver medal. These are the first gold and silver medals ever won by the USA at an Olympic Hopes Canoe and Kayak Regatta.
(Last year, two young women received a bronze in a C2 race.)
Points are earned for the teams by individual race medals, placement in the finals, and the number of athletes who make semi-finals. Each athlete competes in three or more races at these events with three distances - 1000m, 500m, and 200m - broken into age categories, gender categories, and then individual or small team boat categories - K1, K2, K4, C1, C2, C4. K means Kayak, C means Canoe, and the number means the number of people in the boat.
900 athletes competed from all parts of the globe.

Next month, I'll get back to regular goals.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Insecure Writer's Support Group #HeroLost Day! #IWSG #Newrelease


Today is the #Newrelease Celebration for the #IWSG Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life Anthology, so I'm posting a day ahead of the official IWSG day. 

IWSG started as an encouraging hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and alternating co-hosts every month. IWSG has a website and a newsletter. We're also on facebook, twitter, and Goodreads.
The current Goodreads book is: Chapter after Chapter by Heather Sellers. I'm definitely taking notes while reading this book. I recommend reading it to hone your own thoughts on writing and to help boost your writing.
IWSG will also have a twitter pitch day on July 27th. 
IWSG has books out - including one celebrated today!
If you didn't know, IWSG is a thriving community of supportive writers!


OPTIONAL May IWSG Day Question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
For my current WIP, I've watched haka dances on youtube. This is only a small part of the novel, but it will come into play.
*For "Of Words and Swords" in Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life, I found all the lyrics for a song on youtube. (See Michelle Wallace's post for more info.)

I'm super excited to share the IWSG 2017 Anthology Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life with everyone I know, especially since I've read all of the stories now. The other eleven authors are amazing!!! Truly, if you read the anthology, you will laugh, cry, find yourself on the edge of your seat, and feel blessed by the writing of at least eleven of the authors (I can't say that about my own work, but the other writers blew me away). I'm humbled and honored to be in the anthology.

Eleven of the twelve - the awesome ones:











The Book


Hero Lost
Mysteries of Death and Life
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

Can a lost hero find redemption?

What if Death himself wanted to die? Can deliverance be found on a bloody battlefield? Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it? Will an ancient warrior be forever the caretaker of a house of mystery?

Delving into the depths of the tortured hero, twelve authors explore the realms of fantasy in this enthralling and thought-provoking collection. Featuring the talents of Jen Chandler, L. Nahay, Renee Cheung, Roland Yeomans, Elizabeth Seckman, Olga Godim, Yvonne Ventresca, Ellen Jacobson, Sean McLachlan, Erika Beebe, Tyrean Martinson, and Sarah Foster.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these twelve tales will take you into the heart of heroes who have fallen from grace. Join the journey and discover a hero’s redemption!


Print ISBN 9781939844361 $14.95
eBook ISBN 9781939844378 $4.99

Print:
EBook:

 Please visit our blog tour stops!

And, if you didn't already know, Dancing Lemur Press made the book beautiful!

Thank you, IWSG!


What kind of research do you do for your writing? Do you ever search youtube? Have you picked up a copy of Hero Lost?



Thursday, March 30, 2017

Laurel Garver's 5 Reasons to Write with Prompts

5 Reasons to Write is an ongoing series highlighting writers who love to write. Topics can include writing with certain genres, writing with prompts, or writing with various types of technology (text, voice, and more). 

Five Reasons to Write with Prompts

By Laurel Garver

Some writers feel that using writing prompts is like riding a bike with training wheels—fine for beginners to get them moving, but too restraining for the more experienced. The fact that creative writing teachers often include them in courses can also give them an elementary flavor.

But prompts are useful beyond mere apprentice-work practice stories. Writers at every level can benefit from bringing prompts into some part of their process. Here are five reasons to write using prompts beyond “so I can get an A in my undergrad fiction writing course”:

1. To warm up
No Olympic track star rolls out of bed and walks directly to the blocks, nor does a dancer simply strap on her toe shoes and dance The Rite of Spring. The pros know you can't perform your best unless you first warm up and stretch. And because the biggest obstacle to writing is one’s resistance to simply sitting down and beginning, a low-pressure warm up can be a helpful way to ease you in. Write to a prompt for ten minutes before you turn to your larger project, and you may find that, like the athlete, it enables you to go faster when you do "hit the track" (work on your manuscript), and like the ballerina, it enables you to move with greater ease and grace.

2. To overcome writer’s block
Writer’s block usually has one of two root causes: hitting a wall with a project or being in a creatively dry period. Essentially, a wall or a desert. Prompts are an excellent way to step away from the sense of frustration and simply play with words. Rather than stubbornly clench your fist around a plot problem or characterization glitch that has you stuck, take a creative vacation by writing to a prompt. It will enable you to mentally relax and give your intuition space to work. And rather than despair about having no ideas, pick up a collection of prompts. These germs of ideas from other creative minds that can often kick-start your creativity.

3. To experiment in a new genre
If you’ve always written one genre, prompts can provide excellent starter ideas to experiment in another genre, to try it on for size and see if it is a fit for you. Genre experiments can also help you avoid getting stale—even if you return to your genre of choice. For example, writing a romance short could help you develop skills with adding subtext to dialogue; experimenting with horror could help you become more deft at tension building and slow reveals. Spinning a prompt in an unexpected direction will open you creatively, help you develop your problem-solving skills, and widen your writing range.

4. To deepen parts of an existing story
Many early drafts suffer from lack of development of either the characters or the plot. Prompts can be helpful tools for doing this development work. They can helping you delve deeper into who these fictional people are and what they’d naturally do in certain situations. They can also provide new ideas for conflicts and obstacles to incorporate into your story, expanding the kinds of experiences your characters have—things you might not have come up with on your own.

5. To overcome burnout
It’s not unusual while writing a novel to hit a stage that you hate your story and have no motivation to continue working on it. Or perhaps you’ve finished the manuscript and are growing weary of the revision process. Your energy has been expended in one direction so long, you feel you can’t take another step on the same path. When experiencing this kind of burnout, writing to a prompt can be a way of having a little creative vacation elsewhere. Writing about your own past—taking prompts in a memoir direction—can be refreshing. So can imagining a character from your current project in a scenario unlike anything in your novel. Let the characters reveal new facets of themselves to you, and you may find your enthusiasm returning. Or simply play in another genre, writing a short story from a prompt for fun to restore your faith in your creative gifts.

Laurel Garver is the author of young adult fiction, poetry, and resources for writers. She holds degrees in English and journalism and earns a living as a magazine editor. An indie film enthusiast and incurable Anglophile, she enjoys pulling jinx pranks at Ravenclaw alumni events and plotting how to hijack a Tardis. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter.


Connect with Laurel:  Blog / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter










About the book
1001 Evocative Prompts for Fiction Writers
Ideas, emotions, images, intriguing questions, perplexing dilemmas—these are the raw materials from which great stories are built.

1001 Evocative Prompts will stimulate your thinking wherever you are in your writing journey and get you writing today. It provides story starts and writing inspiration for a wide variety of genres by focusing on emotions, character development, and pivotal moments.

You can face a blank page with confidence when you use these prompts to warm up, beat writer’s block, develop and maintain a writing habit, change up your routine, start a new project, experiment in a new genre, deepen parts of an existing story, or overcome burnout.

What are you waiting for? Dig in and get writing right now!




A Note from Tyrean: Since I started following Laurel's blog serveral years ago, I have noticed that she creates some wonderful writing prompts and great articles about writing. I highly recommend this book! 

Monday, March 27, 2017

#Hero Lost author Renee Cheung's 5 Reasons to Write in the Technomancy Genre



The 5 Reasons to Write series
proudly presents
the authors from
Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life


for the month of March

Please welcome Renne Cheung!

5 Reasons to Write in the Technomancy Genre

1. The perceived dichotomy of technology and magic
There is a stereotype that when it comes to magic and technology, it’s either/or. I’m not sure where this idea that technology is the antithesis of magic came from but it seems to prevail in fiction. What’s worse is that often, it feels like technology is positioned to be the death of everything magic represents - dreams, intuition, wonder, to name a few concepts.

Perhaps this is due to technology going hand in hand with science and industrialization. After all, even Arthur C. Clarke said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” which implies that magic is simply what science has not been able to explain yet. As a result, science and what it produces, technology, is often used as an antagonistic force in fantasy. (Anyone remember Fern Gully?) But to view something so prevalent in our lives so negatively in an entire genre is rather unfortunately, in my opinion and technomancy is a subgenre that works to correct this misconception.

2. The wonder in our lives
Were you one of those kids that went looking in the back of closets after reading the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time? I was. I remember looking at everything with wonder and trying to catch magic in my hands. Well, wardrobes don’t exactly exist anymore and instead, what we got are computers and laptops. With technology so deeply woven into our lives, why are we not introducing more wonder in those aspects?

Just as one of my fellow anthologist, Jen Chandler, mentioned once in an interview I conducted with her, I want to rekindle that sense of wonder but instead of looking at a forest and wondering if there are faeries about, I want someone to look at social media and wonder if the amount of emotion we pour out via our technology might lead to something else.

3. Social commentary on technology
The fantasy genre is often used as social commentary with the ability to highlight issues about the current society while sneaking past people’s defences because it’s taken out of context of the world as we know it today. I believe the same kind of conversation needs to happen about our technology. Just like Terry Pratchetts Discworld is such a brilliant satire on a range of topics from politics to economics and culture, I believe that technomancy fiction can fulfil a similar role about technology today.

4. An opportunity for education
Learning about technology can be boring (well unless you are a tech nerd). Technomancy is an opportunity to introduce technology, or even the workings of, in a fun way to a wider audience. For instance, I was able to introduce Slack, a chat platform, in one of my stories. I’m fairly sure that outside of the tech industry, not a lot of people know about Slack, but it is an application used widely in many workplaces. Sure, it’s not exactly accurate (technomancy is a subgenre of fantasy after all) but it may inspire someone who previously was not interested in technology to take another look.

5. Technomancy...wha…?
I am well aware that the term is not very commonly used, at least in some circles. Technomancy is a term used more often in tabletop and video games than in fiction. And that’s a reason in itself - there’s simply not enough technomancy fiction out there.


Renee uses her years of experience as a developer to write about the what-ifs of magic and technology. When she is not suspiciously peering at her computer in between her writing, she can be found roaming the streets with her family or gaming (whether it’s video games, board games or table-top RPGs) with her similar-minded friends.

Web | Blog | Twitter | Facebook



Renee wrote the story "Memoirs of a Forgotten Knight" for the 2017 IWSG Anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life.

Long ago, before the Unseen migrated into servers and networks, a hedge-knight sought to save a village from a dragon. But being a hero always has its price.




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To find out more about the stories and authors featured in the anthology, 
check out the Hero Lost website!

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Monday, March 13, 2017

Ellen Jacobson's 5 Reasons to Write Fantasy


The 5 Reasons to Write series
proudly presents
the authors from
Hero Lost: Mysteries of Life and Death
for the month of March


Please welcome Ellen Jacobson


5 Reasons to Write Fantasy

1 – Imagining Different Ways Of Life
I've always been fascinated by different peoples and their cultures in the real world, which is probably why I ended up studying anthropology. What I love about writing fantasy is being able to create imaginary worlds full of people who lead vastly different lives than my own. It reminds me that humanity's strength comes from its diversity of cultures.

2 – Freeing Up Brain Space
My brain is chock full of way too many crazy ideas. As I get older, I desperately need to free up brain space so that I can remember where I put my glasses or what I walked into a room for. Getting some of my crazy ideas for fantasy stories down on paper is a great way to make room for more mundane information like how many calories chocolate chip cookies have in them.


3 – Creating New Languages
Fantasy worlds are full of things you don't find in the real world and therefore we don't have words for them. Considering how difficult I find it to learn other languages, it's fun to pretend I'm fluent in the imaginary languages spoken by my characters and come up with new words that only make sense to me.


4 – Magical Laws Of Nature
I was never very good at science. When you write fantasy, you can make up your own laws of nature. Nothing needs to conform to scientific principles. Magic is expected. Things happen in mysterious and unexpected ways in imaginary worlds which I'm pretty sure my physics teacher would tell me were impossible in this world.


5 – Escaping Reality
The news can be pretty depressing these days. Sometimes, it feels like we have no control of what happens in the world. What better way to escape reality than by writing fantasy stories where you're in control of how events unfold and where good triumphs over evil.


Ellen Jacobson writes mystery and sci-fi/fantasy stories. She is currently working on the first in a cozy mystery series about a reluctant sailor turned amateur sleuth, as well as tales set on imaginary worlds. She lives on a sailboat with her husband, exploring the world from the water. When she isn’t working on boat projects or seeking out deserted islands, she blogs about their adventures.

Ellen's story, "The Silvering" is featured in the IWSG 2017 anthology Hero Lost: Mysteries of Life and Death.

The Silvering

Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it?

Caestu, an ordinary fisherman, disobeyed the principles which guide his people’s way of life. Fortunately, the mark of disobedience is hidden beneath his glove. Unfortunately, others know what he has done. Now he must decide whether to stay with his people or leave to search out others like him.


Available for Pre-order now!
Coming May 2nd!
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
eBook -
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Kobo

To find out more about the stories and authors featured in the anthology, check out the Hero Lost website!

If you would like to host us during our book blog tour, check out Sarah Foster's awesome google form here.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Erika Beebe's 5 Reasons Why You Should Write Your Own Hero Story


The 5 Reasons to Write Series is mixing it up with the
  Hero Lost Anthology Mysteries of Life and Death authors!






Please welcome Erika Beebe!









Five Reasons Why You Should Write Your Own Hero Story

1.)    You can tailor you own hero to your most needed moment
Maybe you don’t need someone to lift cars overhead for you, but let’s say you DO need someone to do your much needed laundry over the course of the week…well…more than that at times? Why not picture your own version of Mr. Laundry Man? It might be fun. It might actually make you chuckle while you’re folding those dreaded crinkly clothes.

2.)    Make your hero your IDEAL Hero.
As a kid I loved Tony the Tiger. He was bright. He had an awesome smile, but today, you wouldn’t see me sleeping with a stuffed orange tiger. But that’s not to say someone else wouldn’t prefer a superhero as a tiger or bear. Maybe you relate better to the animal world. Maybe your superhero is your grandmother and you want this hero to represent your own picture in your own mind.

3.)    You get to decorate them!
From the costume to the colors, what’s not to love about that?

4.)    Choose your own remote location to beam yourself in and out of their worlds.
Does the line, “Beam me up Scottie ring a bell?” Or a magic mirror into a world where you walk between them, or in and out of conflict? Maybe Krypton isn’t the place you want to frequent. Heck, technically it doesn’t even exist. But maybe a cool mirror would make your day, where you blink yourself in some orb to another choice location. A  Harry Potter subway hole or magical seam to use when the crowd presses in, you really need to disappear?

5.)    Finally, no one can argue with your hero. 
    You wrote it. End of story.


Erika Beebe: Writer, author, dreamer, she envisions the possibilities in life and writes to bring hope when sometimes the moment doesn’t always feel that way. Working in the field of public relations and communications for more than fifteen years, she has always been involved with writing, editing, and engaging others in public speaking. In 2013, her first short story “Stage Fright” published in One More Day anthology. Her two young children help keep her creativity alive and the feeling of play in the forefront of her mind.
Blog: Cloud Nine Girl @ erikabeebe.com
Twitter: @cloudninegirl1
Instagram: erikabeebe
Tumblr: CloudNineGIrl
Two Facebook Options:
My inspiration Page: Cloud Nine Girl

My author Page: Erika Beebe Author

Erika is the author of "The Wheat Witch" - one of the 12 new stories featured in the 2017 IWSG anthology: Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life!


Can a lost hero find redemption? What if Death himself wanted to die? Can deliverance be found on a bloody battlefield? Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it? Will an ancient warrior be forever the caretaker of a house of mystery?
 
Delving into the depths of the tortured hero, twelve authors explore the realms of fantasy in this enthralling and thought-provoking collection. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these twelve tales will take you into the heart of heroes who have fallen from grace.




Coming May 2017!