Resting, Reading in Audio, and Starting a Short Series of Social Media Posts

 

Sea Lions Showing Humans How to Rest

It's dangerous for me to start a new series of posts here live on my blog, literally writing my rough draft in blogger for this post. I've started new series of blog posts like this before, and then let them slide.

But this time, I have a plan, written up in my journal, a word document, and an excel spreadsheet. This will be a short series for 2.5 weeks, followed by another series (pre-planned) with all the posts from blog to social media in a common theme.

It started simple and became a big more complex as I worked through possibilities.

But before I get there, let's go back to the resting and reading parts of this post, which are actually integral to my "plan." 

RESTING

My husband and I recently went on vacation to Carlsbad, CA (not New Mexico), a middle city between San Diego and LA. We drove there and back, taking time to see some of the coastline in California and Oregon. I shared many photos on IG, but I'll share a few here, too.

Highway 101, Big Sur with Marine Air aka Fog (see later picture below for without fog)

Sleeping Tiger Mural in Carlsbad, CA

Beach (near Coronado the day we rode our bikes 20 miles? Not sure)

It was a much-needed rest. 

Santa Barbara - can you tell it was windy and I forgot to take the camera off the "portrait" setting?

Morro Bay - the sea otters were chilling out most of the day

And a much-needed time to fill my creative well.

Coastal Trail along Big Sur Coastline without fog

Oregon Sand Dunes near Florence (hubs in pic)

Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon, with more marine fog

Cannon Beach, Oregon (Haystack Rock in the background)

It helped me check-in with how I was doing as an author, a teacher, a volunteer, and with all the "things" I do that keep me busy throughout each day and each week at home. I realized, I had started to over-do again.

I decided I need to take this "rest" and extend it into a vacation kind of mindset for everyday living.

READING IN AUDIO 

Part of the way I rest is through reading, although I didn't do as much of that on the trip as I had intended.

My husband has been wanting to read more, but he doesn't like to read paperback or ebooks because he stares at a screen all day for work, so we have been listening to audio book versions of The False Prince and The Runaway King, part of a series by Jennifer Nielsen for MG to YA readers. I've read those books as library books in the past, so it's been interesting to hear them as audio books. 

I've discovered how rich the author's language is, and how well she uses each word to create a compelling and fun narrative. I think I race past most of those rich-word moments when I'm reading for storyline and plot.

For this reason, I've decided to make one of my reading goals for 2023 to be about reading in audio. This year, I had the goal of reading 25% poetry books and 25% non-fiction and I'm far behind on both, but I have read far more of those genres than I normally do.

STARTING A TWO-WEEK SERIES OF JOINED BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

Consider this all to be a pre-amble for a new series of blog, newsletter, and social media posts for the next two weeks. I've been discussing courage in some places, and I'll continue to do that, but I'll also be talking about rest and renewal as necessary parts of life, of gaining courage, and as a part of fiction. 

How is rest a part of storytelling in fiction? Well... stick around for the next post here and all those on social media, and you'll see. 

Warning: this is a cliff hanger.

IWSG: Favorite Genre, an Upcoming Book, and a Bit about TikTok

 

Check out all the IWSG has to offer and join the monthly blog hop at the website.

Link Here!

Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and all of the co-hosts: 

Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

IWSG

Favorite Genre

October 5 question - What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

Speculative fiction can range from the outright, noticeably hard sci-fi and all-encompassing fantasy worlds to the somewhat subtle supernatural and sci-fi elements like those we see in the Indiana Jones movies.

The genre offers us a wonderfully, flexible landscape with blurry edges in which to ask tough questions about humanity and morality, go play in a field of unicorns and leprechauns, or attempt to do all of those. We can read The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Rings, The Stand, and The Last Unicorn, and still be within the huge, welcoming space of speculative fiction.

In speculative fiction, we get to ask questions. What will someone do when faced with completely impossible odds? Calculate them like C-3PO, go full speed like Han Solo, get one with the force like Luke, attempt diplomacy like Leia? Or put shields on full and attempt diplomacy first with fingers ready on defensive weapons’ arrays like in many Star Trek scenarios?

Will the characters fight for survival and freedom or give into despair (Hunger Games), and if they fight, is there a right way and a wrong way, and who determines that? Can the characters beat the insurmountable odds, or is it too late (Divergent and 1984)? What makes us human, and can AI be “human” in the way we mean? (Blade Runner)

An Upcoming Book Release

Recently, I assembled speculative fiction short stories I’ve written mostly over the last six years into a new book: 25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains, A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection.

No matter how hard circumstances are, there is hope for survival, even if it means making one simple choice in the right direction or standing up in the face of impossible odds. But the question remains: What is the right direction and which way is up?

The find out more, head to the pre-order here: Amazon.com: 25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection eBook : Martinson, Tyrean: Kindle Store

A Bit about TikTok

As some may remember, I started a 100-Day experiment with TikTok in late June. It's October, and... wait, I haven't posted on TikTok in six weeks. That's right, I let it fall by the wayside.

How did that happen?

It started innocently enough. I tried to create simple, short videos with visual book recommendations that were focused on the books. Then, I thought I probably should get on screen with face and audio. I started following authors whose content I liked and getting ideas. At one point, I posted videos every day of the week. And then, I got sick. And then, I realized I was spending far more time creating video content than I was writing, even when the videos were short, and that did it. I stopped. 

Honestly, I think TikTok has some bonuses for authors. I know it helped me prepare to give a talk because I practiced my talking points in a series of videos. I'll probably do that again or use Instagram Reels in the same way. There are nice authory-readery people on TikTok and not everyone is age 13. It's okay to be in your 50s or older on TikTok. 

However, one thing I will warn everyone I know about - TikTok has some awful content on there. Until you start following about 50 accounts you like, TikTok will fill your feed with random stuff and some of it is genuinely bad - like, I thought about calling CPS and PETA kind of bad. I really don't like parenting videos that involve violence against children and TikTok has some content like that. Maybe it's out there on IG Reels and Youtube as well, but I had never been subjected to it before TikTok.

For this reason, I am considering taking down my TikTok account, even though I did find over a 100 nice people to follow on there, and I am sure there are more cool authors and artists to see on TikTok. And once you start following enough accounts and the algorithm gets what you like, you see less random ick, but still, knowing the ick there... makes it less of a decent place to be.

So, that's all for now. I might come up with some more marketing-related commentary, but for now, I find my strongest argument against TikTok is some of the content. 

Let's keep the conversation going:

What's your favorite genre?

Have any new books or stories coming out?

And, if you use TikTok, what do you think of it?

IWSG: Never Say Never, Song Lyrics, and 500 Miles of Writing

The main blurb here about IWSG is reposted from the IWSG website. Check it out HERE. 

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 - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the September 7 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Olga Godim, Michelle Wallace, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

September 7 question - What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?

Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting the IWSG! 

IWSG

NEVER SAY NEVER

My thoughts on the September 7th Question: Never say never! Even if the genre would be the worst one for you to tackle.

When I say Never Say Never, I'm not quoting the Bieber song. In fact, when I say those words, I hear a very different song from the 80s running through my head and some of the lyrics are... well. Umm, I don't even know who the song was by or the actual name of it, but it was on a mix tape a guy friend gave me - and doesn't that make me sound like I could be writing 80s-90s historical fiction? Said guy friend was someone I dated, but did not ever call a boyfriend because, well, we thought about it, but he was Catholic, and I was Protestant and we thought it mattered. There's definitely a story there, but I'm not sure it's one I'll ever write. The above is actually enough over-sharing for that. However, as I said, never say never. Who knows, another decade will pass, and I might think, yes, it's time to write that story in a fictionalized way.

I say all this because I "never" thought I would write with a pseudonym. Now, I have two. 

I "never" thought I would write song lyrics. I have, both in fiction projects and outside of them. 

I "never" thought I would write a stand-alone book because I honestly love a great series, but now, I have.

I "never" thought I would write in second person point of view because that's just too weird and grammatically confusing, right?

But now I have written a novel with three POV characters that shifts from second person point of view, first person point of view, and letter writing (first again, but different). 

This is not a new writing technique, but it's a rarely used one. NK Jamieson obviously made it work. Scott Reintgen did it successfully in his Ashlords duology. I'm sure there are more examples outside of the speculative fiction realm. 

Will all of these projects see the light of day? 

Yes, eventually. Some already have. Some will someday.

Because this writing gig is something I love. I am not giving it up, ever. I will write and I will write, and maybe I will write all the "nevers" by the time I'm done, which will be when they pry the pen and laptop from my cold, dead fingers. 

 For anyone waiting for Rayatana 3, I apologize. Drafts 1, 2, and the partial of 3 were shlock, pure and simple. They didn't work. Parts of them shine prettily, but problems happened when I tried to salvage them, so I went back to the brainstorming phase. It will get finished. I have carved out a block of time to rewrite it entirely, but I am not promising any particular release dates until I'm satisfied it doesn't stink.

Current writing vibe:

I decided to replace Never Say Never with 500 Miles by the Proclaimers for my song for the week.

*I had to look that song up because you know how it is when a snatch of lyrics is running on repeat in the back of your head? Yes. That feeling. So, the Never Say Never song I remember is by Romeo Void and came out in 1981. I heard it the first time around 1989 or 1990. If you like clean lyrics, don't go looking it up. It's a weird song from a time when weird song lyrics were the norm.

What's your writing vibe right now?

Any songs sticking in your brain these days?

Pseudonyms

 

I have wrestled with the idea of pseudonyms for over a decade. I didn't originally want one.

I love my name. I love the way it reads. I love the way it sounds. I love it as it is.

However, some readers find it off-putting for various reasons, sometimes because they can't pronounce it easily.

Think of how you use the 'ea' vowel combination in words like read, lean, mean, freak, leak, teak, ease, sea, and you should have it right. 

However, it's still a conundrum on the front of a book cover.

Now, if you're wondering what I'm doing with most of my existing series, well, I'll keep my name there.

However, for some new projects, I'll be going with one of a couple of pseudonyms.

Plural.

Yep. 

It's going to be a big of an experiment, but so far, I think it will go well.

For one of them, I'm just adding a page here at my blog and my other website. For the other, well, you'll have to hunt for it. I'm not going to reveal it at the moment. 

Ironically, the one I'm adding here is the one with which I'll be publishing slightly more dicey material. My Captain Wrath stories have often surprised people who know me in the real world. It's like I'm too "nice" in my regular life for friends to realize I actually can and do write some slightly grittier material. 

So, for now, TA Thorne (yes, it's obvious, right?), is my pseudonym for my Captain Wrath series, which is going live on Kindle Vella this month. 

The page for TA Thorne is HERE.

More information about the pseudonym and the story are on that page. 

IWSG August 2022 and a Massive Book Sale

 

Started by Alex J. Cavanaugh

The awesome co-hosts for the August 3 posting of the IWSG are Tara Tyler, Lisa Buie Collard, Loni Townsend, and Lee Lowery!

Optional Question for the month:

When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original, or do you try to give readers what they want?

I hope to do be both original and give readers something they want. However, I have often erred on the side of original, which can be a tough sell.

I have been writing a long, long time and I love to write original ideas, but I would also love to get "read" by readers. 

As I ponder this quandary this month, I have some stuff going on behind the scenes. 

Plus, I have a birthday this month, and to celebrate, most of my eBooks are on sale at Amazon for 99 cents. If you've ever been curious about reading my books, but haven't yet, now is a good time to plunk down less than a dollar for one. 

MASSIVE BOOK SALE

These titles are all only 99 cents for Ebook for the month of August:

Liftoff into adventure with Amaya when her movie theater turns out to be a spaceship in disguise!

Liftoff for 99 cents!

Nexus, the sequel to Liftoff, for 99 cents!

Champion in the Darkness, my first publication with a new cover, at only 99 cents!

Faith matters in this fantasy world - Christian Fantasy YA Adventure.

Champion in the Darkness

Champion in Flight, Book 2 in The Champion Trilogy, at only 99 cents

Champion's Destiny, Book 3 in The Champion Trilogy at only 99 cents

Ashes Burn, Seasons 1-7 for 99 cents!

Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry for 99 cents!