A Disengage and Some Mentions

I'm either huddled over my pc with my internet connection turned off trying to prepare for the Champion in the Darkness release or I'm ski-boarding at a local mountain pass.
(Or I'm huddled over my pc while my husband drives to the pass, then ski-boarding, then huddling again)

However, before I disengage, I just want to mention:

The Geek Twins changed the date of My Favorite Martian - be sure to follow the link.

Remember to sign up for Nick Wilford's Overcoming Adversity Blog Hop for February 4th-5th.

Mark Koopmans is hosting a Got Green blog hop on March 15th.

Plus, Alex J. Cavanaugh is having his next blog hop on March 18th.

And . . . when I finally get all my promo stuff together (waiting for some art work), I'll activate a link for the release party for Champion in the Darkness, Feb. 11th. Please save the date!

And M.L. Chesney recently released Adversarius. It looks like a great read!

Hope you all have a good Friday and a great weekend!

Beginnings Blog Hop and Overcoming Adversity

Beginnings Blog Hop

L.G. Keltner of Writing off the Edge is hosting the Beginnings blog hop today to celebrate her one year blogaversary. Entries are to be about beginnings . ..any kind of beginnings. I had a tough time deciding on which kind of beginning to write about so . . . here are two entries, 100 words or less each:

The Beginning of my blog started in April 2009. I had seen clickable links at the end of entries at e-zines like Every Day Poets and Every Day Fiction. I had a story published, and then a poem, and I thought, “I would like one of those links.” Voila. I started a blog. I named it after Winnie-The-Pooh’s Thoughtful Spot, and spent a year musing, and felt happy with 9 followers. Nearly four years later, I have gained wonderful blog buddies, and I am thankful for this wonderful place to share, to muse, to dream, and to write. 

The beginning of one of my favorite books begins with a  description of a place and a character who lives there. "In a hole in a the ground there lived a hobbit." When I write I struggle with my beginnings. Do I start with character? Do I start with description? Is it possible to start with action, description, and character all at once? I would love to be able to do that, but I don't think I've mastered it yet. What do you start with in your beginnings?

Thank you L.G. for hosting this blog hop today . . .it had me thinking of many different types of beginnings.

Overcoming Adversity:

Nick Wilford at Scattergun Scribblings is hosting The "Overcoming Adversity" bloghop to raise money for his nephew Andrew to attend a specialist college. I highly recommend joining in on this bloghop. You can get published, and it's a good cause! You can write fiction, non-fiction, or poetry with this theme: overcoming adversity for something you believe in.


So, how do you begin your beginnings? And have you signed up for Overcoming Adversity yet?

Crossing i's and dotting t's

It's a new year, and I find myself trying to stuff new habits into old shoes . . .or something like that.

Up early, I rode the family exercise bike, did some strength and stretching exercises, read my Bible, prayed, and now I'm here . . .for a few minutes. Then I'm off to do some last minute, morning-of, prep for one of my classes that I teach today, and then . . .well, it will be time for breakfast and then running out the door . . .

Sometime this afternoon I'll be back in blogland for a bit, then onto my last month's worth of prep for Champion in the Darkness . . . only 35 days left until the official release. Aah! I mean, Woohoo!!!

I am excited, I just have to dot my t's and cross my i's before I get there. No, wait, scratch that . . . I need to dot my i's and cross my t's.  :-)

My new, better work ethic, habits aren't quite fitting into my old time patterns, but I'll figure it out, eventually.

How are your resolutions/goals working out so far this year?

Does anyone else have a family tradition of turning the "dotting my i's and crossing my t's" saying upside down and saying it backwards?

Reflections on IWSG, Events, and a Birthday

Reflections on IWSG
Whew! After trying to just fill a small part of the Ninja Captain's shoes, I felt mind-boggled. After helping out with IWSG for just a day (well two), I came to the conclusion that Alex J. Cavanaugh is a mad super genius at blogging. He assigned me just a few blogs to visit for IWSG. I visited around 80, and he visited more than I can imagine in one day. How does he do it? Does he skim? No, that can't be, because his comments all make intelligent sense. My comments started getting weary and short after several blogs . . . sorry if I visited your blog and that was the case.

Another thing I learned from co-hosting IWSG - every blogger I visited is an awesome writer, and every awesome writer has a few insecurities. Many posts blew me away with their raw honesty, or their cleverness, or both. At the end of the day (actually two), I just wanted to stop and say, thanks. Thanks for sharing your ups and downs, and thanks for sharing your funny stories, and your encouragement. And thanks for visiting me, and giving me such support. It means a lot to me.

Events
 L.G. Keltner of Writing Off the Edge is hosting the Beginnings Blogfest on January 9th to celebrate her first year blogaversary! As the title suggests, it's all about beginnings, almost any type of beginning - beginning as a writer, beginning life, or the beginning of a favorite book or story that you would like to post about that day.

The Geek Twins are hosting the My Favorite Martian Bloghop on January 14th. Share your favorite martian and why you love them, and make new friends.

 Alex J. Cavanaugh is hosting his next blogfest on March 18th. More details coming. Save the date!

There are probably many more events happening, but these are the ones that caught my eye first, and I'll be sticking with these for the moment. I'm trying to cut down my fest time to one or two a month in the next few months while I prep for the release of Champion in the Darkness. Despite my insecurities, I received awesome feedback from my CP, and from some of my family beta readers (who, trust me, can be totally honest about what they don't like), and they keep telling me to go ahead, get it out there. So. . .in the next six weeks I'll be getting all my guest posts figured out, and making final plans for the release day party. I'm still waiting on my cover . . .but I'm hoping to reveal soon.

A Birthday My amazing, super sweet, awesome husband is turning 46 today! We're celebrating with a family lunch with his parents, my parents, our kids, and his sister and her family, and then  we're going to play laser tag! Last night we warmed up our laser tag skills with a round of family nerf wars.

My husband is a multi-talented guy - a supervising electrical engineer by day, but a snowboarding teacher, video editor, tech expert, sound and light guy on the side . . .in addition to being a wonderful huband and great dad.

He's the kind of guy who makes science experiments not only work, but work in an extreme way. My youngest had an electrical car kit with her science lessons last year and he showed her how to upgrade it with a bigger battery and better wheels so it could go twice as fast. I'm also not sure if he or my oldest daughter had more fun with her ballistics class experiments: giant slingshots, potato guns, and carbide cannons have been fired off in our long gravel driveway and into the wooded area around our house more times that I can count this last year.

He's also the kind of guy who likes to hold hands and snuggle, and isn't embarassed about any of that, which makes me really happy.

This photo is from a few years ago . . . can't seem to upload new ones today . . .blogger and I are having a disagreement.

In his honor, I encourage you to go and hug somebody you love today!

So, are you signed up for awesome blogfests, awed by the Ninja's super blog skills, re-energized by IWSG?

IWSG 2013

Insecure Writers Support Group is an awesome group of encouraging writers, started by the awesome Ninja Captain (no hyperlink needed) Alex J. Cavanaugh. Even Ninja Captains have work to do and busy days, so Alex is sharing his love of IWSG by sharing some of the work. This month, I have the honor to be one of the hosts, along with Jamie from Mithril Wisdom.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.
 


2012 is gone and done, and 2013 is here. It's a time of reflection. A time to ask questions. A time to make goals.

Have we changed, grown, found new hope?

Or are we still stuck in a morass of insecurity?

Yes, and no, I think. When we sit down to write, we hope, we change, and we grow. We defy insecurity.

However, there are those moments, especially for me in the revison process, that I answer yes to that second question.

A few days ago, I was in state of total fear, sure that my novel Champion in the Darkness sucked in a complete and undeniable way . . .and I started OCDing on fixing everything, at once, immediately . . .and chocolate breaks and walking breaks, and whining breaks weren't fixing anything. Thoughts inside my head went like this: What was I thinking setting myself a release date in February? Am I crazy? There's no way this novel will amount to anything good by then, if ever.

And then New Year's Eve, I sat down and decided to just read a section without listening to that insane inner editor, and I found a part I really liked. Thoughts inside my head went like this: "well, if they (the readers) make it this far into the book, this part is mostly good. Releasing this book in February will work. Somehow it will."

So, my writing goal goals for 2013 are:
1. Defy Insecurity. Write. Hope. Dream. Write again.

2. Publish Champion in the Darkness in February.

3. Revise Champion in Flight (sequel to Champion in the Darkness).

4. Decide what do do with Captain Wrath. (I thought I would know by now but I don't.)

5. Finish and Publish Short Stuff - an anthology of poetry and short stories.

6. Write a rough draft of Champion Refined by Fire (working title).


So, what are your goals this year?
Are you ready to defy insecurity?